Italy went behind after 12 seconds but came back to beat France 3-1 in a highly-entertaining Nations League A Group 2 opening game on Friday.

Bradley Barcola found the net in the opening minute when he caught Giovanni Di Lorenzo napping and raced into the area before curling his shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Italy levelled after half an hour with Federico Dimarco volleying home a deft back-heel flicked pass from Sandro Tonali, and the sides went in level at the break after a pulsating opening half.

Five minutes after the interval and France were rocked again with Davide Frattesi putting Italy ahead, and Giacomo Raspadori gave the visitors the breathing space they needed in the 74th minute to silence the Parc des Prince crowd.

In Thursday's other group game, Belgium beat Israel 3-1, and in the next round of games on Monday France will host Belgium, with Italy away to Israel in Budapest. (Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Pritha Sarkar)