France winger Desire Doue suffered a painful dental injury during his country’s 3-1 defeat to Italy in the Nations League after receiving an elbow to the mouth from Davide Frattesi.
The Paris Saint-Germain youngster was left with a loose front tooth following the incident, which occurred while the Italian midfielder was shielding the ball during the encounter at the San Siro.
Frattesi caught Doue in the face with his elbow, leaving the French forward requiring urgent dental attention.
France manager Zinedine Zidane confirmed the injury during his post-match interview, revealing that the teenager had suffered a dislodged tooth.
When asked whether Doue had lost a tooth, Zidane responded: “Yeah, I think so. We’re going to take him straight there. A tooth has come loose, I think. We’ll take care of him starting tomorrow.”
Frattesi Scores Before Causing Doue’s Injury
The incident added to a difficult evening for Doue, who struggled to make a significant impact during France’s defeat.
Frattesi, who was responsible for the elbow that injured the PSG winger, had already scored Italy’s second goal six minutes before the incident.
The Lazio midfielder’s strike gave Italy the lead after the hosts had recovered from an early setback.
France initially went ahead through Michael Olise, who opened the scoring just 10 minutes into the match.
However, Italy responded through Inter Milan forward Francesco Esposito, who brought his team level 16 minutes later.
Frattesi then put the Azzurri ahead early in the second half before Esposito converted a penalty to complete his brace and secure the 3-1 victory.
Frattesi received only a yellow card for the challenge on Doue.
Zidane Reflects on France’s Defeat
Despite the result, Zidane remained relatively positive when discussing France’s overall performance.
The French manager described defeat as part of the team’s development process and pointed to the opportunities created by his players during the match.
“The most important thing is creating chances.
Hitting the post had an impact, but I’m not disappointed,” he said.
“I would have been if we hadn’t created good possession.
What we need to analyse is why we weren’t at the right level off the ball.”
However, Zidane also acknowledged that France experienced defensive problems after the interval.
He added: “In the second half, we ran into difficulties, especially defensively.”
France and Italy Level on Group Points
Italy’s victory moved them level with France in Group A of the Nations League standings.
Both national teams have recorded three wins, one draw and one defeat in the competition.
France will have an opportunity to regain their position at the top of the group when they host Turkey on Sunday.
Italy will also be in action against Belgium on the same day, with the outcome of that fixture potentially determining the final group positions.
Should Italy defeat Belgium, France would have to settle for second place in the group.
