France and Italy finished 1-1 in France vs Italy, but the match belonged to Gianluigi Donnarumma. He made seven saves, Sky Sport Italia rated him 8.5 and called him the best player on the pitch. It was the kind of display that kept Italy in the game long after France had started asking questions.

Donnarumma’s influence in Paris

Donnarumma said after the game, in comments translated from French and quoted by Foot Mercato: "All the saves are difficult, but for me, the hardest one was on Rabiot's shot. I am especially happy to have been able to help my team, we played a great match in a great atmosphere."

Sky Sport Italia also put this outing in a wider context, saying it was the third-best of his Italy career, behind eight saves against Spain at Euro 2024 and ten against Bosnia in a World Cup playoff. That claim is source-led rather than settled fact, but it still gives a sense of how high this performance sat in his international record.

The clean numbers back up the eye test. Donnarumma has three Nations League appearances in 2026, and this was the one where Italy leaned hardest on him.

Bastoni scores again, but the goalkeeper was the difference

Alessandro Bastoni gave Italy their goal and has now scored twice in two Nations League appearances in 2026. TuttoMercatoWeb also said he scored in Bursa, and that little burst from a centre-back has been a surprise bonus for Italy.

The more lasting image, though, was still Donnarumma. This was not just a decent goalkeeper performance tucked inside a draw. It was the performance that held the result together, while France pushed volume through Ousmane Dembélé, who wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Kylian Mbappé, took six shots, created three key passes and still finished without a goal or assist.

Zinedine Zidane defended Dembélé after the match, saying he "runs everywhere" and "drifts," while adding that he had "nothing to reproach him for." The output still tells its own story, and in the end France were left with pressure while Italy had the goalkeeper who handled it best.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →