France promises improvement: 'Just a defeat, nothing serious'

Zidane suffered his first defeat as France manager in Thursday's loss to Italy but insisted the team will bounce back quickly.

France dominated possession but fell to a 1-0 defeat against Italy on Thursday evening, marking Italy's first win on home soil against Les Bleus since 1962. It was Zidane's first loss since taking charge of the national team.

Zidane acknowledged France's shortcomings, particularly in defensive duels and one-on-one situations, but stressed there was no cause for alarm. "It's just part of the learning process," he said. "We had good moments, especially in the first half, and we should have focused more on what we did well then.

There were also weaker moments, like in the duels and one-on-one situations. We weren't at our best, but that's part of development."

The coach pointed out that France had won three of four matches in the previous international window and remained competitive. "There's no reason for panic," Zidane added. "We created chances and had possession, but defensively we weren't solid." Midfielder Adrien Rabiot echoed the sentiment, saying: "It's just a defeat, nothing serious, but we'll analyse what we did well and what we did poorly."