In their pomp, both the Frenchman and the Italian were at the forefront of their countries' successes, and even if this particular UEFA tournament is seen as the 'little brother' of the European Championship, it's still a title and a piece of silverware to be won.
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No Mbappe for France
The teams had met three times previously in the Nations League, with Italy having won one, one being drawn and France earning a victory. Their last meeting was in October 2026, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
With Kylian Mbappe not 100 per cent match fit, the striker wasn't named in the starting XI or as one of the substitutes, meaning that the likes of Michael Olise and Desire Doue would need to come to the fore, something they've both done with aplomb this season for Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively.
For the hosts, how the midfield pairing of Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Barella played would determine how well the Azzurri would do in this match.
Mancini would surely have drilled into his players, too, that a win at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza would see Italy top Group A1 with one match left to play in the group stage.
Donnarumma at fault
Olise's opening goal after 10 minutes owed everything to the incredibly poor distribution of Italy captain Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The giant keeper didn't even look when he tried to play out from the back, and once the ball fell at Olise's feet, it was only ever going to end up in the back of the net.
Given that it was already the away side's fourth attempt on goal, compared to none for the hosts, the signs didn't look good for Mancini's men.
Not to mention that Italy had failed to win any of their last four matches when conceding first in the Nations League. Ironically, the last time they'd come back to win in the competition was against France on September 6th, 2024.
Brilliant Barella
Olise's goal was the fastest that the French had scored in this edition of the tournament, and was his fifth in the Nations League, more than any other player in the squad.
Barella was certainly playing his part in trying to get the hosts back on track, and was instrumental in virtually every aspect of play for the Italians, earning himself a Flashscore player rating of 7.4.
With Alessandro Bastoni and Riccardo Calafiori standing strong, it gave Italy a platform from which to build, though Francesco Pio Esposito's equaliser on 26' was their first shot on or off target.
The striker certainly proved his worth during the game in an attacking sense, and his five shots across the 90 minutes were more than anyone on either team could manage.
Only Bradley Barcola's 12 touches in the opposition box were more than the Italian's seven, too.
Let off for France
Barella was still directing operations for the hosts, despite the French having 76 per cent possession of the ball in the 15 minutes leading into half-time. He even managed to get a shot away, albeit off target, and won back possession on eight separate occasions.
Though the visitors were dominating in terms of the chances created, Barella's incredible 95.1 per cent pass completion rate and nine one-on-one duels attempted (five won) ensured that they couldn't really build up a head of steam in the midfield areas.
Just before the hour mark, Malo Gusto's untimely challenge on Nicolo Cambiaghi handed Italy the chance to go ahead in the game, but Sebastiano Esposito's penalty was dragged wide of the upright.
That let-off only seemed to galvanise the French, with Olise leading from the front.
Too little, too late from Olise
His own 95.1% pass completion consistently helped to keep his side on the front foot, and he, too, won back possession on five separate occasions.
Again a squad high, and that won't have been lost on Zidane.
Mancini's substitution just after the hour - Federico Dimarco for Cambiaghi - changed the game, as within a minute, the former had crossed low for Davide Frattesi to hammer the Azzurri into the lead.
When Dayot Upamecano threw out a leg and tripped Antonio Vergara in the area not long afterwards, referee Istvan Kovacs was in the perfect position to award another penalty, and Esposito made no mistake with the spot-kick.
Five subs in five minutes from Zidane couldn't alter the trajectory of the match, even with Olise still having three more efforts at goal in the latter stages, and earning an excellent Flashscore rating of 7.3.