Twenty years after his infamous red card in the 2006 World Cup final, Zinedine Zidane will face Italy again on Friday (2 October), this time as France coach.

Zidane was sent off deep into extra time in Berlin after headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the chest. The incident brought an abrupt end to his playing career and remains one of football’s most iconic moments.

Despite the passage of two decades, Zidane said he has no regrets about the incident.

“The images always remind me of it, they’re shown over and over again,” Zidane said at a pre-match news conference. “But luckily that’s not all I ever did and there are other images that are nicer.”

“They’re not regrets. It’s part of my career. I’m not proud of what happened, but you can’t always do just good things,” he added. “We’re all on a journey in life, where sometimes you do things that aren’t the best. But now it’s about what comes next.”

Zidane never played again after the 2006 final and initially believed the headbutt would be the final image of his France career.

“For me it was the end, and I can say things were very, very difficult,” he said. “I’m ready to come back and coach the France team, I want to give everything I have.”

He has not spoken to Materazzi since the incident.

“No,” Zidane said firmly. “Not at all.”

The reunion with Italy will also mark Zidane’s first home match as France coach. He has won his opening two games in charge, beating Türkiye 1-0 and Belgium by the same score.

“It’s a very emotional moment,” Zidane said. “We’re ready for this third match, we’ve prepared well. We’re going to try to win in front of our fans.”

Ousmane Dembélé is set to captain France again in the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappé.

According to ESPN, Italy have also made changes to their squad ahead of the match, with coach Roberto Mancini leaving nine players at home as he manages preparations for Monday’s meeting with Türkiye. Italy began the international break with a 2-0 defeat by Belgium before responding with a 4-1 win over Türkiye.