While France tries to recover from humiliation when it plays Bosnia-Herzegovina in Tuesday's European Championship qualifiers, Italy is also struggling to find its best form ahead of its game against the Faeroe Islands.
A friendly loss to Ivory Coast and a narrow win over Estonia are all Italy has to show since its embarrassing exit from the first round of the World Cup. But Friday's victory in Tallinn at least showed some of the spirit Italy seemingly mislaid during the tournament in South Africa.
Antonio Cassano scored one goal and set up the other to help Italy come back from a goal down and the striker, who was left out of his country's World Cup squad, puts his change in fortunes down to an improved attitude.
Cassano's undoubted talent has long been overshadowed by his fiery temperament and constant chafing against authority. He has fallen out with coaches and teammates everywhere he has played.
The 28-year-old forward's newfound appetite for teamwork is illustrated by his performance against Estonia and reaction to coach Cesare Prandelli's decision to replace him with a substitute.
"Before I used to think about myself, but now I think about the team because the only player who would win a match on his own was Maradona and I am not Diego, even if I used to think I was," Cassano said. "Prandelli asked me how I was after my back problems against Estonia.
"I said to him that if he wanted to take me off, I wouldn't have been a problem and after two minutes he substituted me."
The Sampdoria striker made his debut in 2003 but has made fewer than 20 appearances for Italy since, making the squad for the 2004 and '08 European Championships but twice being left out of the World Cup.
"I've been in and out of the team for years and for the most part it's my fault and I take responsibility for the errors I've made," Cassano said. "Now I've started well and I hope to stay on the right track.
"To become a serious player I decided to change. If not, I'd have gone back to being a butcher."
Italy shares the early Group C lead with Serbia, which beat Faeroe Islands 3-0 on Friday and hosts Slovenia on Tuesday.
After a humiliating World Cup campaign under Raymond Domenech, when the players refused to train before being knocked out in the first round, France has no room for error when it travels to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
France slipped to an embarrassing 1-0 loss to visiting Belarus on Friday in Laurent Blanc's first competitive match as coach and another defeat would put it in an perilous position.
Bosnia can take early control of Group D after easily beating Luxembourg 3-0 Friday.
"We have to pick ourselves up for Bosnia," Blanc said. "It was already an important game, and now that we've already lost once, it becomes even more important. We will have decisive games right up until the end of qualifying."
France, which has lost its last four games overall and won one of the last nine, is without three strikers after injuries to Louis Saha, Loic Remy and Guillaume Hoarau.
But Blanc has been boosted by the news that Karim Benzema has recovered from a sore ankle.
While World and European champion Spain follows its 4-0 Group I win over Liechtenstein with a friendly against Argentina, the Netherlands hosts Finland, England is at Switzerland and Greece is at Croatia in other of the 23 qualifying matches.
While Europe's biggest sides opened qualifying last week, Denmark starts against visiting Iceland in Group H.
Denmark has won 16 and drawn four of its 20 games against Iceland, but coach Morten Olsen faces the challenge of rebuilding the team following the retirement of Jon Dahl Tomasson, Martin Jorgensen, Jesper Groenkjaer and Martin Laursen after a lackluster World Cup performance.
Key striker Nicklas Bendtner is out with a groin problem that hampered him during the World Cup, leaving Olsen mulling the inclusion of defender Leon Jessen, midfielders Christian Eriksen and Johnny Thomsen, and forwards Kasper Lorentzen, Lasse Schone and Mads Junker.
Portugal, the Euro 2004 runner-up, threw away a chance to take an early lead in Group H when it drew 4-4 with unfavored Cyprus in Guimaraes. It travels to Norway, which won 2-1 at Iceland on Friday.
"We need to be more compact and prevent Norway scoring easy goals," Portugal forward Hugo Almeida said. "The whole team has to fight for that. We also need to make use of our attacking power, stay concentrated and play forcefully."
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