Roberto Mancini, the Italy national team coach, praised the collective spirit his team displayed against France.
The French national team drew with its Italian counterpart 1-1 in the match played on Matchday 3 of the UEFA Nations League group stage, held at Stade de France in the French capital, Paris.
The Italian coach told the Italian channel "Rai 1": "We knew it would be an extremely difficult match, especially at the start, but we handled it well and gave the French team very few chances, even when they had possession."
He added, "We played with a team spirit, attacking and defending together, which is why I see the match as positive. I wanted this game to be another step forward in our journey."
He concluded, "I liked our attempt to play real football despite facing an exceptional team full of stars and champions. We sometimes suffered under pressure, but we always tried to score, which is great. We wanted to win until the last moment."
This encounter was Zinedine Zidane's first as France manager against Italy after 20 years since the 2006 World Cup final.
That match was Zidane's last on the pitch, where he received a red card for headbutting Italian player Marco Materazzi.
The French fans prepared a special display for Zidane, marking his first match in France as manager.
France had played two matches under Zidane's leadership, but both were away from home: the first in Turkey and the second in Belgium.
The match between the two teams ended in a draw for the first time after six encounters, whether official or friendly.
The last draw between the two sides dates back to September 8, 2007, in the qualifiers for Euro 2008.
With this draw, France reached seven points at the top of the group, while Italy's tally rose to four points in third place.
Belgium defeated their opponent Turkey 3-0 in the same group.
Belgium sits in second place with six points, while Turkey trails at the bottom without any points.
