Italy national football team
The Italy national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy, which is a co-founder and member of UEFA. Italy's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, is located in Florence. Italy are the reigning European champions, having won UEFA Euro 2020.
Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of football and the World Cup, having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) and appearing in two other finals (1970, 1994), reaching a third place (1990) and a fourth place (1978). Italy also won two European Championships (1968, 2020), and appeared in two other finals of the tournament (2000, 2012). Italy's team also achieved a second place at the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions in 2022, and a third place at the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and at the UEFA Nations League in 2021.
The team is known as gli Azzurri (the Blues), because Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional paint of the royal House of Savoy, which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy. In 1938, Italy became the first team to defend its World Cup title, and due to the outbreak of World War II, retained the title for a further 12 years. Italy had also previously won two Central European International Cups (1927–30, 1933–35). Between its first two World Cup victories, Italy won the Olympic football tournament (1936). After the majority of the team was killed in a plane crash in 1949, Italy obtained poor results in the 1950s, even failing to qualify for the 1958 World Cup. Failure to qualify for the World Cup did not happen again until the consecutive editions of 2018 and 2022. The team was unbeaten from October 2018 to October 2021, and holds the world record for most consecutive matches without defeat (37).
Italy has notable rivalries with other footballing nations, such as Brazil, Croatia, France, Germany and Spain. In the FIFA World Rankings, in force since August 1993, Italy has occupied the first place several times, in November 1993 and during 2007 (February, April–June, September), with its worst placement in August 2018 in 21st place.
History
This section appears to be slanted towards recent events. (August 2022) |
Origins and first two World Cups in 1934 and 1938
An early attempt to create an Italian national team occurred on 30 April 1899, when an Italian selection played a Swiss eleven, losing 0–2 in Torino.[3] The team's first official match was held in Milan on 15 May 1910. Italy defeated France by a score of 6–2, with Italy's first goal scored by Pietro Lana.[4][5][6] The Italian team played with a (2–3–5) system and consisted of: De Simoni; Varisco, Calì; Trerè, Fossati, Capello; Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, Boiocchi. The first captain of the team was Francesco Calì.[7]
The first success in an official tournament came with the bronze medal in 1928 Summer Olympics, held in Amsterdam. After losing the semi-final against Uruguay, an 11–3 victory against Egypt secured third place in the competition. In the 1927–30 and 1933–35 Central European International Cup, Italy achieved the first place out of five Central European teams, topping the group with 11 points in both editions of the tournament.[8][9] Italy would also later win the gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics with a 2–1 victory in extra time in the gold medal match over Austria on 15 August 1936.[10]
After declining to participate in the inaugural World Cup (1930, in Uruguay) the Italy national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in 1934 and 1938, under the direction of coach Vittorio Pozzo and the performance of Giuseppe Meazza, who is considered one of the best Italian football players of all time by some.[11][12] Italy hosted the 1934 World Cup, and played their first ever World Cup match in a 7–1 win over the United States in Rome. Italy defeated Czechoslovakia 2–1 in extra time in the final in Rome, with goals by Raimundo Orsi and Angelo Schiavio to achieve their first World cup title in 1934. They achieved their second title in 1938 in a 4–2 defeat of Hungary, with two goals by Gino Colaussi and two goals by Silvio Piola in the World Cup that followed. Rumour has it, before the 1938 finals fascist Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini was to have sent a telegram to the team, saying "Vincere o morire!" (literally translated as "Win or die!"). However, no record remains of such a telegram, and World Cup player Pietro Rava said when interviewed: "No, no, no, that's not true. He sent a telegram wishing us well, but no never 'win or die.'"[13]
1946–1966: Post-World War II
In 1949, 10 of the 11 players in the team's initial line-up were killed in a plane crash that affected Torino, winners of the previous five Serie A titles. Italy did not advance further than the first round of the 1950 World Cup, as they were weakened severely due to the air disaster. The team had travelled by boat rather than by plane, fearing another accident.[14]
In the World Cup finals of 1954 and 1962, Italy failed to progress past the first round, and did not qualify for the 1958 World Cup due to a 2–1 defeat to Northern Ireland in the last match of the qualifying round. Italy did not take part in the first edition of the European Championship in 1960 (then known as the European Nations Cup), and was knocked out by the Soviet Union in the first round of the 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying.[citation needed]
Their participation in the 1966 World Cup was ended by a 0–1 defeat at the hands of North Korea. Despite being the tournament favourites, the Azzurri, whose 1966 squad included Gianni Rivera and Giacomo Bulgarelli, were eliminated in the first round by the semi-professional North Koreans. The Italian team was bitterly condemned upon their return home, while North Korean scorer Pak Doo-ik was celebrated as the David who killed Goliath. Upon Italy's return home, furious fans threw fruit and rotten tomatoes at their transport bus at the airport.[15][16]
1968–1974: European champions and World Cup runners-up
In 1968, Italy participated in their first European Championship, hosting the European Championship and winning their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup, beating Yugoslavia in Rome for the title. The match is the only European Championship or World Cup final to go to a replay.[17] After extra time the final ended in a 1–1 draw, and in the days before penalty shootouts, the rules required the match to be replayed a few days later. Italy won the replay 2–0 (with goals from Gigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi) to take the trophy. The semi-final was won on a coin toss.
In the 1970 World Cup, exploiting the performances of European champions' players like Giacinto Facchetti, Gianni Rivera and Gigi Riva and with a new centre-forward Roberto Boninsegna, the team were able to come back to a World Cup final match after 32 years. They reached this result after one of the most famous matches in football history—the "Game of the Century", the 1970 World Cup semifinal between Italy and West Germany that Italy won 4–3 in extra time, with five of the seven goals coming in extra time.[18] They were later defeated by Brazil in the final 4–1.
The cycle of international successes ended at the 1974 World Cup, where the team was eliminated in the group stage after a 2–1 loss against Poland in the last match of the group.
1978–1986: Third World Cup generation
In the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, a new generation of Italian players, the most famous being Paolo Rossi, came to the international stage. Italy was the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team Argentina. Second-round games against West Germany (0–0), Austria (1–0) and Netherlands (1–2) led Italy to the third-place final, where the team was defeated by Brazil 2–1. In the match that eliminated Italy from the tournament against the Netherlands, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was beaten by a long-distance shot from Arie Haan, and Zoff was criticized for the defeat.[19] Italy hosted the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship, the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four,[20] automatically qualifying for the finals as hosts. After two draws with Spain and Belgium and a narrow 1–0 win over England, Italy were beaten by Czechoslovakia in the third-place match on penalties 9–8 after Fulvio Collovati missed his kick.[citation needed]
After a scandal in Serie A where some National team players such as Paolo Rossi[21] were prosecuted and suspended for match fixing and illegal betting, the Azzurri qualified for the second round of the 1982 World Cup after three uninspiring draws against Poland, Peru and Cameroon. Having been loudly criticized, the Italian team decided on a press black-out from then on, with only coach Enzo Bearzot and captain Dino Zoff appointed to speak to the press. Italy's regrouped in the second round group, a group of death with Argentina and Brazil. In the opener, Italy prevailed 2–1 over Argentina, with Italy's goals, both left-footed strikes, were scored by Marco Tardelli and Antonio Cabrini. After Brazil defeated Argentina 3–1, Italy needed to win in order to advance to the semi-finals. Twice Italy went in the lead with Paolo Rossi's goals, and twice Brazil came back. When Falcão scored to make it 2–2, Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but in the 74th minute Rossi scored the winning goal, for a hat-trick, in a crowded penalty area to send Italy to the semifinals after one of the greatest games in World Cup history.[22][23][24]
Italy then progressed to the semi-final where they defeated Poland with two goals from Rossi. In the final, Italy met West Germany, who had advanced by a penalty shootout victory against France. The first half ended scoreless, after Antonio Cabrini missed a penalty awarded for a Hans-Peter Briegel foul on Bruno Conti. In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal, and while the Germans were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Marco Tardelli and substitute Alessandro Altobelli finalised two contropiede counterattacks to make it 3–0. Paul Breitner scored home West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes from the end.[25]
Tardelli's cry "Gol! Gol!" was one of the defining images of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph.[26] Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot with six goals as well as the Golden Ball Award for the best player of the tournament,[27] and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the World Cup.[28] However, Italy failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championship.[29][30] Italy then entered as reigning champions in the 1986 World Cup[31][32][33] but were eliminated by reigning European Champions, France, in the round of 16.[34]
1986–1994: World Cup runners-up
In 1986, Azeglio Vicini was appointed as new head coach, replacing Bearzot.[35] New coach conceded a chance to young players, such as Ciro Ferrara and Gianluca Vialli:[36] Sampdoria striker scored goals that gave Italy 1988 European Championship pass.[37] He was also shown like Altobelli's possibly successor, having his same goal attitude.[38] Both forwards stroke the target in Germany, where Soviet Union defeated the Azzurri in semi-finals.[39]
Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in 1990. The Italian attack featured talented forwards Salvatore Schillaci and a young Roberto Baggio. Italy played nearly all of their matches in Rome and did not concede a single goal in their first five matches; however, they lost the semi-final in Naples to defending champion Argentina. Argentinian player Maradona, who played for Napoli, made comments prior to the game pertaining to the North–South inequality in Italy and the risorgimento, asking Neapolitans to root for Argentina in the game.[40] Italy lost 4–3 on penalty kicks following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Schillaci's first-half opener was equalised in the second half by Claudio Caniggia's header for Argentina. Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick with Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea. Italy went on to defeat England 2–1 in the third-place match in Bari, with Schillaci scoring the winning goal on a penalty to become the tournament's top scorer with six goals. Italy then failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship. In November 1993, FIFA ranked Italy first in the FIFA World Rankings for their first time since the ranking system was introduced in December 1992.[41]
At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Italy lost the opening match against Ireland 0–1 at the Giants Stadium near New York City. After a 1–0 win against Norway in New York City and a 1–1 draw with Mexico at the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Italy advanced from Group E based on goals scored among the four teams tied on points. During their round of 16 match at the Foxboro Stadium near Boston, Italy was down 0–1 late against Nigeria, but Baggio rescued Italy with an equaliser in the 88th minute and a penalty in extra time to take the win.[42] Baggio scored another late goal against Spain at their quarter-final match in Boston to seal a 2–1 win and two goals against Bulgaria in their semi-final match in New York City for another 2–1 win.[43][44]
In the final, which took place in Los Angeles's Rose Bowl stadium 2,700 miles (4,320 km) and three time zones away from the Atlantic Northeast part of the United States where they had played all their previous matches, Italy, who had 24 hours less rest than Brazil, played 120 minutes of scoreless football, taking the match to a penalty shootout, the first time a World Cup final was settled in a penalty shootout.[45] Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3–2 after Baggio, who had been playing with the aid of a pain-killer injection[46] and a heavily bandaged hamstring,[47][48] missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.[49][50]
1996–2000: European Championship runners-up
After qualifying for Euro 1996 on level points with Croatia, Italy did not progress beyond the group stage at the final tournament. Having defeated Russia 2–1 but losing to the Czech Republic by the same score, Italy required a victory in their final group match to progress to the quarter-finals. Gianfranco Zola failed to convert a decisive penalty in a 0–0 draw against Germany, who eventually won the tournament.[51]
Relegated to second place behind England in the qualification campaign for the 1998 World Cup, Italy booked a place at the final tournament after defeating Russia in a play-off, with Pierluigi Casiraghi scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 aggregate victory on 15 November 1997.[52] After finishing first in their group and overcoming Norway in the second round, Italy faced a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals, for the third World Cup in a row.[53] The Italian side, where Alessandro Del Piero and Baggio renewed the controversial staffetta ("relay") between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970, held the eventual World Champions and host team, France, to a 0–0 draw after extra time, but lost 4–3 in the shootout. With two goals scored in this tournament, Baggio remains the only Italian player to have scored in three different FIFA World Cup editions.[54]
Two years later, Italy faced another penalty shootout Euro 2000 but emerged victorious over the co-hosts, the Netherlands in the semifinal.[55] Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saving one penalty during the match and two in the shootout, while the Dutch players missed one other penalty during the match and one during the shootout with a rate of one penalty scored out of six attempts. Striker Francesco Totti scored his penalty with a cucchiaio ("spoon") chip.[56] Italy finished the tournament as runners-up, losing the final 2–1 against France (to a golden goal in extra time) after conceding an equalising goal just 30 seconds before the expected end of injury time.[57] After the defeat, coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticized by AC Milan club president and politician Silvio Berlusconi.[58]
2000–2004: Trapattoni era
Giovanni Trapattoni took charge of the team in July 2000 following the resignation of Dino Zoff.[59] Playing in Group 8 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification process, Italy finished undefeated after facing Romania, Georgia, Hungary and Lithuania. In the final tournament, a 2–0 victory against Ecuador with a double from Christian Vieri was followed by a series of controversial matches. During the match against Croatia, English referee Graham Poll disallowed two goals resulting in a 2–1 defeat for Italy.[60] Despite two goals being ruled for offsides, a late headed goal from Alessandro Del Piero helped Italy to a 1–1 draw with Mexico, proving enough to advance to the knockout stages.[61]
Co-host country South Korea eliminated Italy in the round of 16 by a score of 2–1. The match proved controversial with members of the Italian team, most notably striker Francesco Totti and coach Giovanni Trapattoni, suggesting a conspiracy to eliminate Italy from the competition.[62] Trapattoni even obliquely accused FIFA of ordering the official to ensure a Korean victory so that one of the two host nations would remain in the tournament.[63] The most contentious decisions by the game referee Byron Moreno were an early penalty awarded to South Korea (saved by Buffon), a golden goal by Damiano Tommasi ruled offside, and the sending off of Totti after being presented with a second yellow card for an alleged dive in the penalty area.[64] FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that the linesmen had been a "disaster" and admitted that Italy suffered from bad offside calls during the group matches, but he denied conspiracy allegations. While questioning Totti's sending off by Moreno, Blatter refused to blame Italy's loss entirely on the referees, stating: "Italy's elimination is not only down to referees and linesmen who made human not premeditated errors. Italy made mistakes both in defense and in attack."[65]
Trapattoni stayed on to coach Italy for UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal. He guided the team to a first-place finish in Group 9 overcoming Wales, Serbia and Montenegro, Finland and Azerbaijan. With draws against Denmark and Sweden along with a victory over Bulgaria in Group C, Italy were eliminated following a three-way five point tie based on the number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams.[66] Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and then Italian football federation president Franco Carraro accused the Swedish and Danish teams of fixing the result.[67] Despite calls, then-UEFA spokesperson Robert Faulkner said the organization would not investigate the result.[68]
After initially refusing to resign following Italy's elimination from the tournament, the Italian Football Federation replaced Tapattoni with Marcello Lippi.[69][70]
Fourth World Cup title in 2006
Lippi made his debut in a 2–0 defeat in Iceland in August 2004 but managed to eventually qualify for 2006 FIFA World Cup.[71][72][73][74]
With controversy plaguing the domestic league, Italy entered the final tournament as one of the eight seeded teams and were drawn into Group E alongside Ghana, the United States, and the Czech Republic.[75][76][77][78] Italy won their opening game, 2–0, against the African side, with goals from Andrea Pirlo and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta. FIFA President Sepp Blatter judged the team's performance as the best among the opening games.[79] The second match against the United States ended in a 1–1 draw with Alberto Gilardino's header equalized by Cristian Zaccardo's own goal.[80] During the match, De Rossi was sent off and later received a four match suspension for elbowing American forward Brian McBride.[81] Italy finished first in Group E with a 2–0 win against the Czech Republic, with goals from Marco Materazzi and Filippo Inzaghi, advancing to the knockout stage.[82]
In the round of 16, Italy secured a 1–0 victory over Australia with Francesco Totti scoring a penalty after referee Luis Medina Cantalejo judged that Lucas Neill fouled Fabio Grosso.[83] Italy overcame Ukraine, 3–0, after taking an early lead through Gianluca Zambrotta and additional goals coming from Luca Toni. Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto, who was in the hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt.[84] In the semi-finals, Italy beat hosts Germany 2–0 with goals Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero in the last minutes of extra time.[85]
The Azzurri won their fourth World Cup title after defeating France in the final. French captain Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring from penalty kick in the seventh minute before Materazzi scored from a corner kick, twelve minutes later. The score remained level and though extra-time and Zidane was sent off for headbutting Materazzi.[86] Italy went on to win the penalty shootout 5–3, with all Italian players scoring their kicks.[87]
FIFA named seven Italian players — Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni — to the 23-man tournament All Star Team.[88] Buffon also won the Lev Yashin Award, given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament; he conceded only two goals in the tournament's seven matches, the first an own goal by Zaccardo and the second from Zidane's penalty kick in the final, and remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes.[89] In honour of Italy winning a fourth FIFA World Cup, members of the squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere.[90][91]
2006–2010: Post-World Cup decline
Marcello Lippi, who had announced his resignation three days after the World Cup triumph, was replaced by Roberto Donadoni as the new coach of the Azzurri.[92] Italy played in the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B, along with France. Italy won the group, with France being the runner-up. On 14 February 2007, Italy climbed to first in the FIFA World Rankings from second, with a total of 1,488 points, 37 points ahead of second ranked Argentina. This was the second time in the Azzurri's history that it had been ranked in first place, the first time being in 1993; they would also be ranked first several times throughout 2007, also in April–June and September.[41][93]
In Euro 2008, the Azzurri lost 3–0 to the Netherlands in the opening match of the group stage. The following game against Romania ended 1–1, with a goal by Christian Panucci that came only one minute after Romania's Adrian Mutu capitalized on a mistake by Gianluca Zambrotta to give Romania the lead.[94] The result was preserved by Gianluigi Buffon who saved a penalty kick from Mutu in the 80th minute.[94] The final group game against France, a rematch of the 2006 World Cup Final, was a 2–0 Italy win. Andrea Pirlo scored from the penalty spot after a foul and red card for France defender Eric Abidal, and later a free kick by Daniele De Rossi took a deflection resulting Italy's second goal. Romania, entering the day a point ahead of the Italians in Group C, lost to the Netherlands 2–0, allowing Italy to pass into the quarter finals against eventual champions Spain, where they lost 2–4 on penalties after a 0–0 draw after 120 minutes. Within a week after the game, Roberto Donadoni's contract was terminated and Marcello Lippi was rehired as coach.[95]
Italy qualified for their first ever FIFA Confederations Cup held in South Africa in June 2009 by virtue of winning the 2006 World Cup. They won their opening match of the tournament by a score of 3–1 against the United States, but subsequent defeats to Egypt (0–1) and Brazil (0–3) meant that they only finished third in the group on goals scored, and were eliminated.[96]
In October 2009, they achieved qualification after drawing with the Republic of Ireland 2–2.[97] On 4 December 2009, the draw for the World Cup was made: Italy would be in Group F alongside three underdog teams: Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia.[98] At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, reigning champions Italy were unexpectedly eliminated in the first round, finishing last place in their group. After being held to 1–1 draws by Paraguay and New Zealand, they suffered a 3–2 loss to Slovakia.[99] It was the first time Italy failed to win a single game at a World Cup finals tournament, and in doing so became the third nation to be eliminated in the first round while holding the World Cup crown; the first being Brazil in 1966 and the second France in 2002.[100] Coincidentally, France who had been Italy's adversaries and the losing finalist in the 2006 World Cup, were also eliminated without winning a game in the first round in South Africa, making it the first time ever that neither finalist of the previous edition were able to reach the second round.[101]
2010–2014: European Championship runners-up
Marcello Lippi stepped down after Italy's World Cup campaign and was replaced by Cesare Prandelli, although Lippi's successor had already been announced before the tournament.[102] Italy began their campaign with Prandelli with a 1–0 loss to the Ivory Coast in a friendly match.[103] During a Euro 2012 qualifier, Italy came back from behind to defeat Estonia 2–1. In the next Euro qualifier, Italy dominated the Faroe Islands 5–0. Italy then tied 0–0 with Northern Ireland. Five days later, Italy played Serbia; however, Serbian fans in Stadio Luigi Ferraris began to riot, throwing flares and shooting fireworks onto the pitch, subsequently causing the abandonment of the game.[104] Upon UEFA Disciplinary Review, Italy was awarded a 3–0 victory that propelled them to the top of their group.[105] In their first match of 2011, Italy drew 1–1 a friendly with Germany at Dortmund, in the same stadium where they beat Germany 2–0 to advance to the final of the 2006 World Cup.[106] In March 2011, Italy won 1–0 over Slovenia to again secure its spot at the top of the qualification table.[107] They then defeated Ukraine 2–0 in a friendly, despite being reduced to ten men for the late stages of the match.[108] With their 3–0 defeat of Estonia in another Euro 2012 qualifier, Prandelli's Italy secured the table lead and also achieved 9 undefeated games in a row since their initial debacle. The streak was ended on 7 June 2011 by Trapattoni's current charges, the Republic of Ireland, with Italy losing 0–2 in a friendly in Liège.[109]
At the beginning of the second season under coach Prandelli, on 10 August 2011, Italy defeated the reigning world champions Spain for 2–1 in a friendly match played in Bari's Stadio San Nicola,[110] but lost in a friendly to the United States, 1–0, on home soil on 29 February 2012.[111] Italy started their Euro 2012 campaign with a 1–1 draw against Spain,[112] and in the following match, they drew 1–1 against Croatia.[113] They finished second in their group behind Spain by beating the Republic of Ireland 2–0, which earned them a quarter-final match against the winners of group D, England. After a mostly one-sided affair in which Italy failed to take their chances, they managed to beat England on penalty kicks, even though they were down early in the shootout. A save by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon put them ahead after a chip shot from Andrea Pirlo. Prandelli's side won the shootout 4–2.[114][115] In their next game, the first semi-final of the competition, they faced the Germany team which was tipped by many to be the next European champions.[116][117][118][119][120] However, two first-half goals by Mario Balotelli saw Germany sent home, and the Italians went through to the finals to face the title defenders Spain. In the final, they were unable to repeat their earlier performance against Spain, falling 4–0 to lose the championship. Prandelli's men were further undone by the string of injuries which left them playing with ten men for the last half-hour, as substitute Thiago Motta was forced to go off after all three substitutions had been made.[121]
During the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, Italy started in a group with Mexico, Japan and Brazil. After beating Mexico 2–1 and Japan 4–3, Italy eventually lost their final group game against tournament hosts Brazil 4–2. Italy then faced Spain in the semi-finals, in a rematch of the Euro 2012 final. Italy lost 7–6 (0–0 after extra time) in a penalty shoot-out after Leonardo Bonucci failed to score his kick.[122] Prandelli was praised for his tactics against the current World Cup and European champions.[123] Italy was then able to win the match for the third place by defeating Uruguay with the penalty score of 5–4 (2–2 after extra time). Italy was drawn in UEFA Group B for the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign. They won the qualifying group without losing a match. Despite this successful run they were not seeded in pot 1 for the final seeding. In December 2013, Italy was drawn in Group D against Costa Rica, England and Uruguay. While Italy defeated England 2–1 in its first match, underdogs Costa Rica beat the Italians 1–0 in the second group stage match.[124] In Italy's last group match, they were knocked out by Uruguay 1–0, due in part to two controversial calls from referee Marco Antonio Rodríguez (Mexico). In the 59th minute, midfielder Claudio Marchisio was sent off for a questionable tackle.[125] Later in the 80th minute, with the teams knotted at 0–0 which would have sent Italy to the next round, Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez bit defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder but was not sent off.[126][127] Uruguay went on to score moments later in the 81st minute with a Diego Godín header from a corner kick, winning the game 1–0 and eliminating Italy. This marked Italy's second consecutive failure to reach the round of 16 at the World Cup finals. Shortly after this loss, coach Cesare Prandelli resigned.[128]
2014–2016: Euro 2016 campaign
The successful former Juventus manager Antonio Conte was selected to replace Cesare Prandelli as coach after the 2014 World Cup. Conte's debut as manager was against 2014 World Cup semi-finalists the Netherlands, in which Italy won 2–0. Italy's first defeat under Conte came ten games in to his empowerment from a 1–0 international friendly loss against Portugal on 16 June 2015.[129] On 10 October 2015, Italy qualified for Euro 2016, courtesy of a 3–1 win over Azerbaijan;[130] the result meant that Italy had managed to go 50 games unbeaten in European qualifiers.[131] Three days later, with a 2–1 win over Norway, Italy topped their Euro 2016 qualifying group with 24 points; four points clear of second placed Croatia.[132] With a similar fate to the 2014 World Cup group stage draw, Italy were not top seeded into the first pot. This had Italy see a draw with Belgium, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland in Group E.[133]
On 4 April 2016, it was announced that Antonio Conte would step down as Italy coach after Euro 2016 to become head coach of English club Chelsea at the start of the 2016–17 Premier League season.[134] The 23-man squad, which was initially criticized by many fans and members of the media for its tactics and level of quality,[135] saw notable absences with Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco controversially left out[136] and Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti omitted due to injury.[137][138] Italy opened Euro 2016 with a 2–0 victory over Belgium on 13 June.[139] Italy qualified for the round of 16 with one game to spare on 17 June with a lone goal by Éder for the victory against Sweden; the first time they won the second group game in a major international tournament since Euro 2000.[140] Italy also finished top of the group for the first time in a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup.[141] Italy defeated reigning European champions Spain 2–0 in the round of 16 match on 27 June.[142] Italy then faced off against the reigning World champions, rivals Germany, in the quarter-finals. Mesut Özil opened the scoring in the 65th minute for Germany, before Leonardo Bonucci converted a penalty in the 78th minute for Italy. The score remained 1–1 after extra time and Germany beat Italy 6–5 in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. It was the first time Germany overcame Italy in a major tournament.[143][144]
Failure to qualify for 2018 World Cup
For the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Italy were placed into the second pot due to being in 17th place in the FIFA World Rankings at the time of the group draws; Italy were drawn with Spain from pot one on 25 July 2015.[145] After Conte's planned departure following Euro 2016, Gian Piero Ventura took over as manager for the team, on 18 July 2016, signing a two-year contract.[146] His first match at the helm was a friendly against France, held at the Stadio San Nicola on 1 September, which ended in a 3–1 loss.[147] Four days later, he won his first competitive match in charge of Italy, the team's opening 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Israel at Haifa, which ended in a 3–1 victory for Italy.[148]
After Italy won all of their qualifying matches except for a 1–1 draw at home to Macedonia, as well as a 1–1 draw with Spain at home on 6 October 2016, and a 3–0 loss away to Spain on 2 September 2017, Italy finished in Group G in second place, five points behind Spain.[149][150] Italy were then required to go through the play-off against Sweden. After a 1–0 aggregate loss to Sweden, on 13 November 2017, Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the first time they failed to qualify for the World Cup since 1958.[151] Immediately following the match, veterans Andrea Barzagli, Daniele De Rossi and captain Gianluigi Buffon all declared their retirement from the national team.[152][153][154][155] On 15 November 2017, Ventura was dismissed as head coach,[156] and on 20 November 2017, Carlo Tavecchio resigned as president of the Italian Football Federation.[157][158]
2018–present: Mancini era
Resurgence and second European title
On 5 February 2018, the Italy U21 manager Luigi Di Biagio was appointed as the caretaker manager of the senior team.[159] On 17 March 2018, despite the initial decision to retire by veterans Buffon and Chiellini, they were both called up for Italy's March 2018 friendlies by caretaker manager Di Biagio.[160] Following the March friendlies against Argentina and England in which Italy were defeated and drew respectively, on 12 April 2018, Italy dropped six places to their lowest FIFA World Ranking at the time, to 20th place.[161] On 14 May 2018, Roberto Mancini was announced as the new manager.[162] On 28 May 2018, Italy won their first match under Mancini, a 2–1 victory in a friendly over Saudi Arabia.[163] On 16 August 2018, in the FIFA World Ranking that followed the 2018 World Cup, Italy dropped two places to their lowest ever ranking, to 21st place.[164] On 7 September 2018, Italy participated in the inaugural UEFA Nations League, drawing their first match of the tournament against Poland in Bologna with a score of 1–1.[165]
On 12 October 2019, Italy qualified for Euro 2020 with three matches to spare after a 2–0 home win over Greece.[166] On 18 November, Italy finished Group J with ten wins in all ten matches, becoming only the sixth national side to qualify for a European Championship with a perfect record, and the seventh instance, after France (1992 and 2004), Czech Republic (2000), Germany, Spain (both 2012), and England (2016).[167] On 17 March 2020, UEFA confirmed that Euro 2020 had been postponed by one year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[168]
On 18 November 2020, with a 2–0 away win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy finished first in their 2020–21 UEFA Nations League group and qualified for the Finals of the tournament.[169][170]
In June 2021 Italy started its venture at the UEFA Euro 2020 in Group A, along with Turkey, Switzerland, and Wales. Being one of the host nations, Italy played all three group games at home at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Italy opened the tournament with a 3–0 win over Turkey.[171][172] Italy then managed to overcome a highly defensive Switzerland with another 3–0 win, with Manuel Locatelli scoring twice and Ciro Immobile netting the last goal to seal a place into the round of 16 with a game to spare, despite captain Giorgio Chiellini suffering an injury.[173][174] Having already secured a place in the knockout phase, Italy beat Wales 1–0 with a heavily rotated squad, with Matteo Pessina scoring the only goal in the first half to ensure the side finished with a perfect record in the group stage.[175][176] Italy became the first team in European Championship history to win each group stage match without conceding.[177]
In the round of 16 played at Wembley Stadium, Italy struggled against Austria, and it was only in the first period of extra time that Italian substitutes Federico Chiesa and Pessina each delivered a goal to give Italy a 2–0 lead. Despite substitute Saša Kalajdžić salvaging a goal for Austria in the second half of extra time (the first goal conceded by the Italians at the tournament), Italy held on to reach the quarter-finals.[178][179] Italy's quarter-final encounter against Belgium, played in Munich's Allianz Arena, saw strong Italian domination, as Nicolò Barella beat Thibaut Courtois to score in the 31st minute, before Lorenzo Insigne doubled Italy's lead in the 44th minute with a powerful strike; Belgium's Romelu Lukaku then converted a successful penalty during stoppage time of the first half. Despite an achilles injury in the second half to Leonardo Spinazzola that ruled him out for the rest of the tournament,[180] Italy once again held the scoreline to eliminate the Belgians.[181][182] The victory set a new record for the longest European Championship winning streak at 15, including both qualifying and the final tournament.[183] Italy then returned to Wembley to face Spain in the semi-finals, the fourth consecutive European Championship where the two sides met. In a tight game dominated by possession football, Italy got the breakthrough from Chiesa after 60 minutes; however, 20 minutes later Álvaro Morata equalised for Spain to level the match at 1–1. No further goals were scored in extra time, resulting in a penalty shoot-out; both Locatelli and Dani Olmo failed to score the first penalties for their respective sides, before Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Spain's fourth kick from Morata. Jorginho then scored the subsequent penalty to take Italy to their first European final since 2012.[184][185]
On 11 July 2021, Italy won the UEFA Euro 2020 by a 3–2 victory on a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw (Bonucci equalized in the second half to cancel out the opening goal scored by Shaw) in extra-time against England in the final held in London.[186] Italy won their second European Championship title 53 years after the first, won at home in 1968. On 16 July, all members of the European Championship-winning squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere.[187]
Failure to qualify for 2022 World Cup
In October 2021 Italy participated in the UEFA Nations League Finals held at home. On 6 October, Italy played the semi-final against Spain, losing 2–1 at San Siro.[188] This match caused the end of the record of 37 unbeaten matches, more than 3 years after the last defeat. Four days later, Italy won the third-place final 2–1 against Belgium at the Juventus Stadium.[189] On 15 November 2021, Italy drew 0–0 with Northern Ireland in their final 2022 World Cup qualifying Group C match and finished in second place, two points behind Switzerland.[190] Italy were then required to go through the second round of qualifying again.[190]
On 24 March 2022, Italy lost 1–0 in the semi-final of the play-offs against North Macedonia in Palermo, at Stadio Renzo Barbera, failing to qualify for the World Cup for a second consecutive time.[191] On 1 June 2022 Italy took part in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions match, rebranded as the 2022 Finalissima, losing 3–0 against Argentina in London.[192] Italy qualified to the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals on 26 September after beating Hungary 2–0 in Budapest.[193]
Rivalries
- Italy vs. Brazil: Matches between the nations are known as the World Derby (Portuguese: Clásico Mundial in Portuguese).[194] The most successful football nations in the world, they have achieved nine World Cups between one another. Since their first match at the 1938 World Cup, they have played against each other a total of five times in the World Cup, most notably in the 1970 World Cup Final and the 1994 World Cup final in which Brazil won 4–1 and 3–2 on penalties after a goalless draw respectively.[195]
- Italy vs. Croatia: Matches between the two nations are known as an Adriatic Derby (Italian: Derby Adriatico)[a] named after the Adriatic Sea that separates them.[196][197][198] Italy has never won against Croatia,[b] with most fixtures played in qualifications and at tournament.[199][200] The two sides have competed in the qualifiers and group stages of Euro 1994, Euro 2012 and Euro 2016 with multiple incidences of crowd trouble and flares being thrown onto the pitch.[201][202] They have only met at the 2002 World Cup, in a group stage match where Croatia came from behind to beat Italy 2–1, after two Italian goals were controversially disallowed.[203]
- Italy vs. Spain: Matches between the nations are known as the Mediterranean Derby (Spanish: Rivalidad futbolística Italia-España), named after the Mediterranean Sea that separates the two nations.[204] has been contested since 1920, and, although the two nations are not immediate geographical neighbours, their rivalry at international level is enhanced by the strong performances of the representative clubs in UEFA competitions, in which they are among the leading associations and have each enjoyed spells of dominance.[205][206] Since the quarterfinal match between the two countries at Euro 2008, the rivalry has renewed, with its most notable match between the two sides being in the UEFA Euro 2012 Final, which Spain won 4–0.[207][208]
- Italy vs. France: Matches between the two nations officially began on 15 May 1910, Italy's first recorded match ending in a 6–2 victory.[209][210] Notable matches in the World Cup and the European Football Championship include the 2006 World Cup Final, when the Italians defeated the French 5–3 in the penalty shoot-out, after a 1–1 draw, and the 2000 European Championship, won by France with an extra-time golden goal by David Trezeguet.[211]
- Italy vs. Germany: Matches between the two nations have cumulated in five matches in the World Cup, notably in the "Game of the Century", the 1970 World Cup semifinal between the two countries that Italy won 4–3 in extra time, with five of the seven goals coming in extra time.[212] Germany has also won three European Championships while Italy has won it twice. The two countries have faced each other four times in the European championship, with three draws (one German penalty shoot-out victory) and one Italian victory.[213] Germany had never defeated Italy in a major tournament match until their victory in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals, on penalties (though statistically considered a draw), with all Germany's other wins over Italy being in friendly competitions.[144]
Team image
Kits and crest
The first shirt worn by the Italy national team, in its debut against France on 15 May 1910, was white. The choice of colour was due to the fact that a decision about the appearance of the kit had not yet been made, so it was decided not to have a colour, which was why white was chosen.[214] After two games, for a friendly against Hungary in Milan on 6 January 1911, the white shirt was replaced by a blue jersey (specifically savoy azure) — blue being the border colour of the royal House of Savoy crest used on the flag of the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946); the shirt was accompanied by white shorts and black socks (which later became blue).[214] The team later became known as gli Azzurri (the Blues).[214][215][216][217]
In the 1930s, Italy wore a black kit, ordered by the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. The black kit debuted on 17 February 1935 in a friendly against France at the Stadio Nazionale PNF in Rome.[218] A blue shirt, white shorts and black socks were worn at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin the following year. At the 1938 FIFA World Cup in France, the all-black kit was worn once in the match against France.[219]
After World War II, the fascist regime fell and the monarchy was abolished in 1946. The same year saw the birth of the Italian Republic, and the blue-and-white kit was reinstated. The cross of the former Royal House of Savoy was removed from the flag of Italy, and consequently from the national team's badge, now consisting solely of the Tricolore. For the 1954 FIFA World Cup, the country's name in Italian, ITALIA, was placed above the tricolour shield, and for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, FIGC, the abbreviation of the Italian Football Federation, was incorporated into the badge.[214]
In 1983, to celebrate the victory at the World Cup of the previous year, three gold stars replaced ITALIA above the tricolour, representing their three World Cup victories until that point. In 1984, a round emblem was launched, featuring the three stars, the inscriptions ITALIA and FIGC, and the tricolour.[214]
The first known kit manufacturer was Adidas in 1974. From 2003 to 2022, the kit was made by Puma.[214] Since the 2000s, an all-blue uniform including blue shorts has occasionally been used, particularity in international tournaments.[214] After Italy's 2006 World Cup victory, a fourth star was added to the tricolour badge. In March 2022, after almost 20 years with Puma, it was announced that Adidas will be Italy's kit manufacturer from 2023.[220]
Results and fixtures
Win Draw Loss Fixtures
2022
24 March 2022 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification play-off | Italy | 0–1 | North Macedonia | Palermo, Italy |
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) | Report |
| Stadium: Stadio Renzo Barbera Attendance: 34,129 Referee: Clément Turpin (France) |
1 June 2022 2022 Finalissima | Italy | 0–3 | Argentina | London, England |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report |
| Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 87,112 Referee: Piero Maza (Chile) |
4 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Italy | 1–1 | Germany | Bologna, Italy |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) |
| Report |
| Stadium: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara Attendance: 23,754 Referee: Srđan Jovanović (Serbia) |
7 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Italy | 2–1 | Hungary | Cesena, Italy |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) |
| Report | Stadium: Stadio Dino Manuzzi Attendance: 14,942 Referee: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland) |
11 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | England | 0–0 | Italy | Wolverhampton, England |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report | Stadium: Molineux Stadium Attendance: 1,782[note 1] Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland) |
14 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Germany | 5–2 | Italy | Mönchengladbach, Germany |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report | Stadium: Borussia-Park Attendance: 44,144 Referee: István Kovács (Romania) |
23 September 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Italy | 1–0 | England | Milan, Italy |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) |
| Report | Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 50,640 Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain) |
26 September 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Hungary | 0–2 | Italy | Budapest, Hungary |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report | Stadium: Puskás Aréna Attendance: 57,300 Referee: Benoît Bastien (France) |
16 November 2022 International friendly | Albania | 1–3 | Italy | Tirana, Albania |
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) |
| Report |
| Stadium: Arena Kombëtare Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Genc Nuza (Kosovo) |
20 November 2022 International friendly | Austria | 2–0 | Italy | Vienna, Austria |
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) | Report | Stadium: Ernst-Happel-Stadion Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Christian Dingert (Germany) |
2023
23 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Italy | v | England | Napoli, Italy |
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) | Report | Stadium: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona |
26 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Malta | v | Italy | Ta' Qali, Malta |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report | Stadium: National Stadium |
15 June 2023 2022–23 UEFA Nations League SF | Spain | v | Italy | Enschede, Netherlands |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report | Stadium: De Grolsch Veste |
18 June 2023 2022–23 UEFA Nations League 3rd/F | v | Netherlands | ||
--:-- CEST (UTC+02:00) |
9 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | North Macedonia | v | Italy | North Macedonia |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report |
12 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Italy | v | Ukraine | Italy |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report |
14 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Italy | v | Malta | Italy |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report |
17 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | England | v | Italy | London, England |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report | Stadium: Wembley Stadium |
17 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Italy | v | North Macedonia | Italy |
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) | Report |
Coaching staff
During the earliest days of Italian nation football, it was common for a Technical Commission to be appointed. The Commission took the role that a standard coach would currently play. Ever since 1967, the national team has been controlled only by the coach. For this reason, the coach of the Italy national team is still called Technical Commissioner (Italian: Commissario tecnico) or CT. The use of this title has since then expanded into other team sports in Italy.
Position | Staff |
---|---|
Head coach | Roberto Mancini |
Assistant coach | Alberico Evani |
Assistants | Attilio Lombardo Giulio Nuciari Fausto Salsano |
Goalkeeping coach | Massimo Battara |
Head of delegation | Vacant |
Team manager | Gabriele Oriali |
Athletic trainers | Valter Di Salvo Andrea Scanavino Claudio Donatelli |
Match analyst | Simone Contran |
Doctors | Andrea Ferretti Angelo De Carli Carmine Costabile |
Nutritionist | Matteo Pincella |
Physiotherapists | Mauro Doimi Fabio Sannino Emanuele Randelli Fabrizio Scalzi |
Osteopath | Walter Martinelli |
Secretary | Emiliano Cozzi |
Source: [223]
Players
Current squad
The following players were selected for the friendly matches against Albania and Austria on 16 and 20 November 2022, respectively.[224]
- Information correct as of 20 November 2022, after the match against Austria.
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | Gianluigi Donnarumma | 25 February 1999 | 50 | 0 | Paris Saint-Germain |
21 | GK | Alex Meret | 22 March 1997 | 3 | 0 | Napoli |
24 | GK | Ivan Provedel | 17 March 1994 | 0 | 0 | Lazio |
25 | GK | Guglielmo Vicario | 7 October 1996 | 0 | 0 | Empoli |
2 | DF | Giovanni Di Lorenzo | 4 August 1993 | 25 | 3 | Napoli |
3 | DF | Federico Dimarco | 10 November 1997 | 8 | 1 | Inter Milan |
5 | DF | Giorgio Scalvini | 11 December 2003 | 3 | 0 | Atalanta |
7 | DF | Fabiano Parisi | 9 November 2000 | 0 | 0 | Empoli |
13 | DF | Federico Gatti | 24 June 1998 | 2 | 0 | Juventus |
15 | DF | Francesco Acerbi | 10 February 1988 | 28 | 1 | Inter Milan |
19 | DF | Leonardo Bonucci (captain) | 1 May 1987 | 120 | 8 | Juventus |
23 | DF | Alessandro Bastoni | 13 April 1999 | 17 | 1 | Inter Milan |
4 | MF | Samuele Ricci | 21 August 2001 | 2 | 0 | Torino |
6 | MF | Marco Verratti | 5 November 1992 | 51 | 3 | Paris Saint-Germain |
12 | MF | Matteo Pessina | 21 April 1997 | 15 | 4 | Monza |
16 | MF | Fabio Miretti | 3 August 2003 | 1 | 0 | Juventus |
18 | MF | Nicolò Barella | 7 February 1997 | 42 | 8 | Inter Milan |
8 | FW | Simone Pafundi | 14 March 2006 | 1 | 0 | Udinese |
9 | FW | Andrea Pinamonti | 19 May 1999 | 1 | 0 | Sassuolo |
10 | FW | Giacomo Raspadori | 18 February 2000 | 17 | 5 | Napoli |
11 | FW | Wilfried Gnonto | 5 November 2003 | 8 | 1 | Leeds United |
14 | FW | Federico Chiesa | 25 October 1997 | 40 | 4 | Juventus |
17 | FW | Matteo Politano | 3 August 1993 | 8 | 3 | Napoli |
20 | FW | Vincenzo Grifo | 7 April 1993 | 8 | 4 | SC Freiburg |
22 | FW | Nicolò Zaniolo | 2 July 1999 | 11 | 2 | Galatasaray |
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up for the team within the last twelve months.
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Alessio Cragno | 28 June 1994 | 2 | 0 | Monza | v. Germany, 14 June 2022 |
GK | Pierluigi Gollini | 18 March 1995 | 1 | 0 | Napoli | v. Germany, 14 June 2022 |
GK | Salvatore Sirigu | 12 January 1987 | 28 | 0 | Fiorentina | v. Argentina, 1 June 2022 |
DF | Emerson Palmieri | 3 August 1994 | 28 | 0 | West Ham United | v. Albania, 16 November 2022 INJ |
DF | Rafael Tolói | 10 October 1990 | 10 | 0 | Atalanta | v. Albania, 16 November 2022 INJ |
DF | Pasquale Mazzocchi | 27 July 1995 | 1 | 0 | Salernitana | v. Albania, 16 November 2022 INJ |
DF | Luiz Felipe | 22 March 1997 | 1 | 0 | Real Betis | v. Hungary, 26 September 2022 |
DF | Leonardo Spinazzola | 25 March 1993 | 21 | 0 | Roma | v. Germany, 14 June 2022 |
DF | Gianluca Mancini | 17 April 1996 | 9 | 0 | Roma | v. Germany, 14 June 2022 |
DF | Davide Calabria | 6 December 1996 | 7 | 0 | AC Milan | v. Germany, 14 June 2022 |
DF | Alessandro Florenzi | 11 March 1991 | 49 | 2 | AC Milan | v. England, 11 June 2022 |
DF | Cristiano Biraghi | 1 September 1992 | 13 | 1 | Fiorentina | v. Hungary, 7 June 2022 INJ |
DF | Giorgio Chiellini | 14 August 1984 | 117 | 8 | Los Angeles FC | v. Argentina, 1 June 2022 RET |
DF | Manuel Lazzari | 29 November 1993 | 3 | 0 | Lazio | v. Argentina, 1 June 2022 |
DF | Mattia De Sciglio | 20 October 1992 | 40 | 0 | Juventus | v. Turkey, 29 March 2022 |
MF | Bryan Cristante | 3 March 1995 | 29 | 2 | Roma | v. Albania, 16 November 2022 INJ |
MF | Sandro Tonali | 8 May 2000 | 12 | 0 | AC Milan | v. Albania, 16 November 2022 INJ |
MF | Davide Frattesi | 22 September 1999 | 4 | 0 | Sassuolo | v. Albania, 16 November 2022 INJ |
MF | Nicolò Fagioli | 12 February 2001 | 1 | 0 | Juventus | v. Albania, 16 November 2022 INJ |
MF | Jorginho | 20 December 1991 | 46 | 5 | Arsenal | v. Hungary, 26 September 2022 |
MF | Tommaso Pobega | 15 July 1999 | 3 | 0 | AC Milan | v. Hungary, 26 September 2022 |
MF | Salvatore Esposito | 7 October 2000 | 1 | 0 | Spezia | v. Hungary, 26 September 2022 |
MF | Lorenzo Pellegrini | 19 June 1996 | 24 | 5 | Roma | v. England, 23 September 2022 INJ |
MF | Manuel Locatelli | 8 January 1998 | 24 | 3 | Juventus | v. Germany, 14 June 2022 |
MF | Stefano Sensi | 5 August 1995 | 9 | 3 | Monza | v. Turkey, 29 March 2022 |
FW | Gianluca Scamacca | 1 January 1999 | 9 | 0 | West Ham United | v. Albania, 16 November 2022 INJ |
FW | Manolo Gabbiadini | 26 November 1991 | 13 | 2 | Sampdoria | v. Hungary, 26 September 2022 |
FW | Matteo Cancellieri | 12 February 2002 | 1 | 0 | Lazio | v. Hungary, 26 September 2022 |
FW | Alessio Zerbin | 3 March 1999 | 1 | 0 | Napoli | v. Hungary, 26 September 2022 |
FW | Ciro Immobile | 20 February 1990 | 55 | 15 | Lazio | v. England, 23 September 2022 INJ |
FW | Gianluca Caprari | 30 July 1993 | 1 | 0 | Monza | v. Germany, 14 June 2022 |
FW | Andrea Belotti | 20 December 1993 | 44 | 12 | Roma | v. Hungary, 7 June 2022 |
FW | Lorenzo Insigne | 4 June 1991 | 54 | 10 | Toronto FC | v. Argentina, 1 June 2022 |
FW | Federico Bernardeschi | 16 February 1994 | 39 | 6 | Toronto FC | v. Argentina, 1 June 2022 |
FW | Domenico Berardi | 1 August 1994 | 24 | 6 | Sassuolo | v. Argentina, 1 June 2022 INJ |
FW | Moise Kean | 28 February 2000 | 12 | 4 | Juventus | v. Argentina, 1 June 2022 INJ |
FW | Mattia Zaccagni | 16 June 1995 | 1 | 0 | Lazio | v. Argentina, 1 June 2022 INJ |
FW | João Pedro | 9 March 1992 | 1 | 0 | Fenerbahçe | v. Turkey, 29 March 2022 |
INJ Withdrew due to injury |
Previous squads
|
|
|
Individual records
Player records
Most capped players
As of 20 November 2022, the players with the most appearances for Italy are:[225]
Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Period |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gianluigi Buffon | 176 | 0 | 1997–2018 |
2 | Fabio Cannavaro | 136 | 2 | 1997–2010 |
3 | Paolo Maldini | 126 | 7 | 1988–2002 |
4 | Leonardo Bonucci | 120 | 8 | 2010–present |
5 | Giorgio Chiellini | 117 | 8 | 2004–2022 |
Daniele De Rossi | 117 | 21 | 2004–2017 | |
7 | Andrea Pirlo | 116 | 13 | 2002–2015 |
8 | Dino Zoff | 112 | 0 | 1968–1983 |
9 | Gianluca Zambrotta | 98 | 2 | 1999–2010 |
10 | Giacinto Facchetti | 94 | 3 | 1963–1977 |
Players in bold are still active in the national football team.
Top goalscorers
As of 20 November 2022, the players with the most goals for Italy are:[226]
Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Period |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gigi Riva (list) | 35 | 42 | 0.83 | 1965–1974 |
2 | Giuseppe Meazza | 33 | 53 | 0.62 | 1930–1939 |
3 | Silvio Piola | 30 | 34 | 0.88 | 1935–1952 |
4 | Roberto Baggio | 27 | 56 | 0.48 | 1988–2004 |
Alessandro Del Piero | 91 | 0.3 | 1995–2008 | ||
6 | Adolfo Baloncieri | 25 | 47 | 0.53 | 1920–1930 |
Filippo Inzaghi | 57 | 0.44 | 1997–2007 | ||
Alessandro Altobelli | 61 | 0.41 | 1980–1988 | ||
9 | Christian Vieri | 23 | 49 | 0.47 | 1997–2005 |
Francesco Graziani | 64 | 0.36 | 1975–1983 |
Players in bold are still active in the national football team.
Captains
List of captaincy periods of the various captains throughout the years.[227]
- 1910 Francesco Calì
- 1911–1914 Giuseppe Milano
- 1914–1915 Virgilio Fossati
- 1920–1925 Renzo De Vecchi
- 1925–1927 Luigi Cevenini
- 1927–1930 Adolfo Baloncieri
- 1931–1934 Umberto Caligaris
- 1934 Gianpiero Combi
- 1935–1936 Luigi Allemandi
- 1937–1939 Giuseppe Meazza
- 1940–1947 Silvio Piola
- 1947–1949 Valentino Mazzola
- 1949–1950 Riccardo Carapellese
- 1951–1952 Carlo Annovazzi
- 1952–1960 Giampiero Boniperti
- 1961–1962 Lorenzo Buffon
- 1962–1963 Cesare Maldini
- 1963–1966 Sandro Salvadore
- 1966–1977 Giacinto Facchetti
- 1977–1983 Dino Zoff
- 1983–1985 Marco Tardelli
- 1985–1986 Gaetano Scirea
- 1986–1987 Antonio Cabrini
- 1988–1991 Giuseppe Bergomi
- 1991–1994 Franco Baresi
- 1994–2002 Paolo Maldini
- 2002–2010 Fabio Cannavaro[nb 1]
- 2010–2018 Gianluigi Buffon[nb 2]
- 2018–2022 Giorgio Chiellini
- 2022–present Leonardo Bonucci
Hat-tricks
Manager records
- Most manager appearances
- Enzo Bearzot: 104[237]
Team records
- Largest victory
- 9–0 vs. United States, 2 August 1948
- Largest defeat
- 1–7 vs. Hungary, 6 April 1924
Competitive record
For the all-time record, see Italy national football team all-time record.
Champions Runners-up Third place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
1930 | did not enter | did not enter | ||||||||||||||
1934 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
1938 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | Qualified as defending champions | |||||||
1950 | Group stage | 7th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | Qualified as defending champions | |||||||
1954 | 10th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |||
1958 | did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||
1962 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||
1966 | 9th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 3 | |||
1970 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | ||
1974 | Group stage | 10th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
1978 | Fourth place | 4th | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 4 | ||
1982 | Champions | 1st | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | ||
1986 | Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | Qualified as defending champions | |||||||
1990 | Third place | 3rd | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | Qualified as hosts | |||||||
1994 | Runners-up | 2nd | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 7 | ||
1998 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 2 | ||
2002 | Round of 16 | 15th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 3 | ||
2006 | Champions | 1st | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 8 | ||
2010 | Group stage | 26th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 7 | ||
2014 | 22nd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 9 | |||
2018 | did not qualify | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 9 | |||||||||
2022 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 3 | ||||||||||
2026 | To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
Total | 4 titles | 18/22 | 83 | 45 | 21 | 17 | 128 | 77 | 118 | 78 | 30 | 10 | 234 | 72 |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
Italy's World Cup record | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First match | |||||
Biggest win | |||||
Biggest defeat | |||||
Best result | |||||
Worst result | 26th place in 2010 (group stage) |
UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
1960 | did not enter | did not enter | |||||||||||||
1964 | did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | ||||||||
1968 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 6 | |
1972 | did not qualify | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 6 | ||||||||
1976 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
1980 | Fourth place | 4th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | Qualified as hosts | ||||||
1984 | did not qualify | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 12 | ||||||||
1988 | Semi-finals | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 4 | |
1992 | did not qualify | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 5 | ||||||||
1996 | Group stage | 10th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 6 | |
2000 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 5 | |
2004 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 4 | |
2008 | Quarter-finals | 8th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 9 | |
2012 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
2016 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 7 | |
2020 | Champions | 1st | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 4 | |
2024 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||
Total | 2 titles | 10/16 | 45 | 21 | 18 | 6 | 52 | 31 | 118 | 74 | 30 | 14 | 224 | 76 |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
Italy's European Championship record | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First match | |||||
Biggest win | |||||
Biggest defeat | |||||
Best result | Champion italy, national, football, team, this, article, about, team, women, team, italy, women, national, football, team, italian, nazionale, calcio, dell, italia, represented, italy, international, football, since, first, match, 1910, national, team, controlled, ital. This article is about the men s team For the women s team see Italy women s national football team The Italy national football team Italian Nazionale di calcio dell Italia has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910 The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation FIGC the governing body for football in Italy which is a co founder and member of UEFA Italy s home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy and its primary training ground and technical headquarters Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano is located in Florence Italy are the reigning European champions having won UEFA Euro 2020 ItalyNickname s Gli Azzurri The Blues AssociationItalian Football Federation Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio FIGC ConfederationUEFA Europe Head coachRoberto ManciniCaptainLeonardo BonucciMost capsGianluigi Buffon 176 Top scorerGigi Riva 35 Home stadiumVariousFIFA codeITAFirst coloursSecond coloursFIFA rankingCurrent8 2 22 December 2022 1 Highest1 November 1993 February 2007 April June 2007 September 2007 Lowest21 August 2018 First international Italy 6 2 France Milan Italy 15 May 1910 Biggest win Italy 9 0 United States Brentford England 2 August 1948 Biggest defeat Hungary 7 1 Italy Budapest Hungary 6 April 1924 World CupAppearances18 first in 1934 Best resultChampions 1934 1938 1982 2006 European ChampionshipAppearances10 first in 1968 Best resultChampions 1968 2020 Nations LeagueAppearances2 first in 2021 Best resultThird place 2021 CONMEBOL UEFA Cup of ChampionsAppearances1 first in 2022 Best resultRunners up 2022 FIFA Confederations CupAppearances2 first in 2009 Best resultThird place 2013 Medal record Olympic Games1936 Berlin Team1928 Amsterdam TeamFIFA World Cup1934 Italy Team1938 France Team1982 Spain Team2006 Germany Team1970 Mexico Team1994 United States Team1990 Italy TeamUEFA European Championship1968 Italy Team2020 Europe Team2000 Netherlands amp Belgium Team2012 Poland amp Ukraine TeamUEFA Nations League2021 Italy TeamFIFA Confederations Cup2013 Brazil TeamWebsiteFIGC it in Italian and English Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of football and the World Cup having won four titles 1934 1938 1982 2006 and appearing in two other finals 1970 1994 reaching a third place 1990 and a fourth place 1978 Italy also won two European Championships 1968 2020 and appeared in two other finals of the tournament 2000 2012 Italy s team also achieved a second place at the CONMEBOL UEFA Cup of Champions in 2022 and a third place at the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and at the UEFA Nations League in 2021 The team is known as gli Azzurri the Blues because Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy as it is the traditional paint of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy In 1938 Italy became the first team to defend its World Cup title and due to the outbreak of World War II retained the title for a further 12 years Italy had also previously won two Central European International Cups 1927 30 1933 35 Between its first two World Cup victories Italy won the Olympic football tournament 1936 After the majority of the team was killed in a plane crash in 1949 Italy obtained poor results in the 1950s even failing to qualify for the 1958 World Cup Failure to qualify for the World Cup did not happen again until the consecutive editions of 2018 and 2022 The team was unbeaten from October 2018 to October 2021 and holds the world record for most consecutive matches without defeat 37 Italy has notable rivalries with other footballing nations such as Brazil Croatia France Germany and Spain In the FIFA World Rankings in force since August 1993 Italy has occupied the first place several times in November 1993 and during 2007 February April June September with its worst placement in August 2018 in 21st place Contents 1 History 1 1 Origins and first two World Cups in 1934 and 1938 1 2 1946 1966 Post World War II 1 3 1968 1974 European champions and World Cup runners up 1 4 1978 1986 Third World Cup generation 1 5 1986 1994 World Cup runners up 1 6 1996 2000 European Championship runners up 1 7 2000 2004 Trapattoni era 1 8 Fourth World Cup title in 2006 1 9 2006 2010 Post World Cup decline 1 10 2010 2014 European Championship runners up 1 11 2014 2016 Euro 2016 campaign 1 12 Failure to qualify for 2018 World Cup 1 13 2018 present Mancini era 1 13 1 Resurgence and second European title 1 13 2 Failure to qualify for 2022 World Cup 2 Rivalries 3 Team image 3 1 Kits and crest 4 Results and fixtures 4 1 2022 4 2 2023 5 Coaching staff 6 Players 6 1 Current squad 6 2 Recent call ups 6 3 Previous squads 7 Individual records 7 1 Player records 7 1 1 Most capped players 7 1 2 Top goalscorers 7 1 3 Captains 7 1 4 Hat tricks 7 2 Manager records 8 Team records 9 Competitive record 9 1 FIFA World Cup 9 2 UEFA European Championship 9 3 UEFA Nations League 9 4 FIFA Confederations Cup 9 5 Central European International Cup 9 6 Other tournaments 10 Head to head record 11 Honours 11 1 Titles 11 2 Awards 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 External linksHistory EditMain article History of the Italy national football team This section appears to be slanted towards recent events Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non recent events August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Origins and first two World Cups in 1934 and 1938 Edit The squad celebrating its first FIFA World Cup in 1934 An early attempt to create an Italian national team occurred on 30 April 1899 when an Italian selection played a Swiss eleven losing 0 2 in Torino 3 The team s first official match was held in Milan on 15 May 1910 Italy defeated France by a score of 6 2 with Italy s first goal scored by Pietro Lana 4 5 6 The Italian team played with a 2 3 5 system and consisted of De Simoni Varisco Cali Trere Fossati Capello Debernardi Rizzi Cevenini I Lana Boiocchi The first captain of the team was Francesco Cali 7 The first success in an official tournament came with the bronze medal in 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam After losing the semi final against Uruguay an 11 3 victory against Egypt secured third place in the competition In the 1927 30 and 1933 35 Central European International Cup Italy achieved the first place out of five Central European teams topping the group with 11 points in both editions of the tournament 8 9 Italy would also later win the gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics with a 2 1 victory in extra time in the gold medal match over Austria on 15 August 1936 10 After declining to participate in the inaugural World Cup 1930 in Uruguay the Italy national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in 1934 and 1938 under the direction of coach Vittorio Pozzo and the performance of Giuseppe Meazza who is considered one of the best Italian football players of all time by some 11 12 Italy hosted the 1934 World Cup and played their first ever World Cup match in a 7 1 win over the United States in Rome Italy defeated Czechoslovakia 2 1 in extra time in the final in Rome with goals by Raimundo Orsi and Angelo Schiavio to achieve their first World cup title in 1934 They achieved their second title in 1938 in a 4 2 defeat of Hungary with two goals by Gino Colaussi and two goals by Silvio Piola in the World Cup that followed Rumour has it before the 1938 finals fascist Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini was to have sent a telegram to the team saying Vincere o morire literally translated as Win or die However no record remains of such a telegram and World Cup player Pietro Rava said when interviewed No no no that s not true He sent a telegram wishing us well but no never win or die 13 1946 1966 Post World War II Edit The Italy national team in 1965 In 1949 10 of the 11 players in the team s initial line up were killed in a plane crash that affected Torino winners of the previous five Serie A titles Italy did not advance further than the first round of the 1950 World Cup as they were weakened severely due to the air disaster The team had travelled by boat rather than by plane fearing another accident 14 In the World Cup finals of 1954 and 1962 Italy failed to progress past the first round and did not qualify for the 1958 World Cup due to a 2 1 defeat to Northern Ireland in the last match of the qualifying round Italy did not take part in the first edition of the European Championship in 1960 then known as the European Nations Cup and was knocked out by the Soviet Union in the first round of the 1964 European Nations Cup qualifying citation needed Their participation in the 1966 World Cup was ended by a 0 1 defeat at the hands of North Korea Despite being the tournament favourites the Azzurri whose 1966 squad included Gianni Rivera and Giacomo Bulgarelli were eliminated in the first round by the semi professional North Koreans The Italian team was bitterly condemned upon their return home while North Korean scorer Pak Doo ik was celebrated as the David who killed Goliath Upon Italy s return home furious fans threw fruit and rotten tomatoes at their transport bus at the airport 15 16 1968 1974 European champions and World Cup runners up Edit Captain Giacinto Facchetti celebrates Italy s UEFA Euro 1968 victory In 1968 Italy participated in their first European Championship hosting the European Championship and winning their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup beating Yugoslavia in Rome for the title The match is the only European Championship or World Cup final to go to a replay 17 After extra time the final ended in a 1 1 draw and in the days before penalty shootouts the rules required the match to be replayed a few days later Italy won the replay 2 0 with goals from Gigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi to take the trophy The semi final was won on a coin toss In the 1970 World Cup exploiting the performances of European champions players like Giacinto Facchetti Gianni Rivera and Gigi Riva and with a new centre forward Roberto Boninsegna the team were able to come back to a World Cup final match after 32 years They reached this result after one of the most famous matches in football history the Game of the Century the 1970 World Cup semifinal between Italy and West Germany that Italy won 4 3 in extra time with five of the seven goals coming in extra time 18 They were later defeated by Brazil in the final 4 1 The cycle of international successes ended at the 1974 World Cup where the team was eliminated in the group stage after a 2 1 loss against Poland in the last match of the group 1978 1986 Third World Cup generation Edit Italy s line up before the match against France in a group stage game at the 1978 FIFA World Cup at Estadio Jose Maria Minella Mar del Plata Argentina 2 June 1978 In the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina a new generation of Italian players the most famous being Paolo Rossi came to the international stage Italy was the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team Argentina Second round games against West Germany 0 0 Austria 1 0 and Netherlands 1 2 led Italy to the third place final where the team was defeated by Brazil 2 1 In the match that eliminated Italy from the tournament against the Netherlands Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was beaten by a long distance shot from Arie Haan and Zoff was criticized for the defeat 19 Italy hosted the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four 20 automatically qualifying for the finals as hosts After two draws with Spain and Belgium and a narrow 1 0 win over England Italy were beaten by Czechoslovakia in the third place match on penalties 9 8 after Fulvio Collovati missed his kick citation needed Italy s starting line up before the match against Argentina in a group stage game at the 1982 FIFA World Cup One of the widely remembered pictures of the 1982 FIFA World Cup Italian President Sandro Pertini playing scopone with Dino Zoff Franco Causio and coach Bearzot After a scandal in Serie A where some National team players such as Paolo Rossi 21 were prosecuted and suspended for match fixing and illegal betting the Azzurri qualified for the second round of the 1982 World Cup after three uninspiring draws against Poland Peru and Cameroon Having been loudly criticized the Italian team decided on a press black out from then on with only coach Enzo Bearzot and captain Dino Zoff appointed to speak to the press Italy s regrouped in the second round group a group of death with Argentina and Brazil In the opener Italy prevailed 2 1 over Argentina with Italy s goals both left footed strikes were scored by Marco Tardelli and Antonio Cabrini After Brazil defeated Argentina 3 1 Italy needed to win in order to advance to the semi finals Twice Italy went in the lead with Paolo Rossi s goals and twice Brazil came back When Falcao scored to make it 2 2 Brazil would have been through on goal difference but in the 74th minute Rossi scored the winning goal for a hat trick in a crowded penalty area to send Italy to the semifinals after one of the greatest games in World Cup history 22 23 24 Italy then progressed to the semi final where they defeated Poland with two goals from Rossi In the final Italy met West Germany who had advanced by a penalty shootout victory against France The first half ended scoreless after Antonio Cabrini missed a penalty awarded for a Hans Peter Briegel foul on Bruno Conti In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal and while the Germans were pushing forward in search of an equaliser Marco Tardelli and substitute Alessandro Altobelli finalised two contropiede counterattacks to make it 3 0 Paul Breitner scored home West Germany s consolation goal seven minutes from the end 25 Tardelli s cry Gol Gol was one of the defining images of Italy s 1982 World Cup triumph 26 Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot with six goals as well as the Golden Ball Award for the best player of the tournament 27 and 40 year old captain goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the World Cup 28 However Italy failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championship 29 30 Italy then entered as reigning champions in the 1986 World Cup 31 32 33 but were eliminated by reigning European Champions France in the round of 16 34 1986 1994 World Cup runners up Edit In 1986 Azeglio Vicini was appointed as new head coach replacing Bearzot 35 New coach conceded a chance to young players such as Ciro Ferrara and Gianluca Vialli 36 Sampdoria striker scored goals that gave Italy 1988 European Championship pass 37 He was also shown like Altobelli s possibly successor having his same goal attitude 38 Both forwards stroke the target in Germany where Soviet Union defeated the Azzurri in semi finals 39 Roberto Baggio in 1990 Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in 1990 The Italian attack featured talented forwards Salvatore Schillaci and a young Roberto Baggio Italy played nearly all of their matches in Rome and did not concede a single goal in their first five matches however they lost the semi final in Naples to defending champion Argentina Argentinian player Maradona who played for Napoli made comments prior to the game pertaining to the North South inequality in Italy and the risorgimento asking Neapolitans to root for Argentina in the game 40 Italy lost 4 3 on penalty kicks following a 1 1 draw after extra time Schillaci s first half opener was equalised in the second half by Claudio Caniggia s header for Argentina Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick with Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea Italy went on to defeat England 2 1 in the third place match in Bari with Schillaci scoring the winning goal on a penalty to become the tournament s top scorer with six goals Italy then failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship In November 1993 FIFA ranked Italy first in the FIFA World Rankings for their first time since the ranking system was introduced in December 1992 41 Franco Baresi against Romario during the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final At the 1994 World Cup in the United States Italy lost the opening match against Ireland 0 1 at the Giants Stadium near New York City After a 1 0 win against Norway in New York City and a 1 1 draw with Mexico at the RFK Stadium in Washington D C Italy advanced from Group E based on goals scored among the four teams tied on points During their round of 16 match at the Foxboro Stadium near Boston Italy was down 0 1 late against Nigeria but Baggio rescued Italy with an equaliser in the 88th minute and a penalty in extra time to take the win 42 Baggio scored another late goal against Spain at their quarter final match in Boston to seal a 2 1 win and two goals against Bulgaria in their semi final match in New York City for another 2 1 win 43 44 In the final which took place in Los Angeles s Rose Bowl stadium 2 700 miles 4 320 km and three time zones away from the Atlantic Northeast part of the United States where they had played all their previous matches Italy who had 24 hours less rest than Brazil played 120 minutes of scoreless football taking the match to a penalty shootout the first time a World Cup final was settled in a penalty shootout 45 Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3 2 after Baggio who had been playing with the aid of a pain killer injection 46 and a heavily bandaged hamstring 47 48 missed the final penalty kick of the match shooting over the crossbar 49 50 1996 2000 European Championship runners up Edit After qualifying for Euro 1996 on level points with Croatia Italy did not progress beyond the group stage at the final tournament Having defeated Russia 2 1 but losing to the Czech Republic by the same score Italy required a victory in their final group match to progress to the quarter finals Gianfranco Zola failed to convert a decisive penalty in a 0 0 draw against Germany who eventually won the tournament 51 Relegated to second place behind England in the qualification campaign for the 1998 World Cup Italy booked a place at the final tournament after defeating Russia in a play off with Pierluigi Casiraghi scoring the winning goal in a 2 1 aggregate victory on 15 November 1997 52 After finishing first in their group and overcoming Norway in the second round Italy faced a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals for the third World Cup in a row 53 The Italian side where Alessandro Del Piero and Baggio renewed the controversial staffetta relay between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970 held the eventual World Champions and host team France to a 0 0 draw after extra time but lost 4 3 in the shootout With two goals scored in this tournament Baggio remains the only Italian player to have scored in three different FIFA World Cup editions 54 Italy right lineup ahead of the UEFA Euro 2000 Final against FranceTwo years later Italy faced another penalty shootout Euro 2000 but emerged victorious over the co hosts the Netherlands in the semifinal 55 Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saving one penalty during the match and two in the shootout while the Dutch players missed one other penalty during the match and one during the shootout with a rate of one penalty scored out of six attempts Striker Francesco Totti scored his penalty with a cucchiaio spoon chip 56 Italy finished the tournament as runners up losing the final 2 1 against France to a golden goal in extra time after conceding an equalising goal just 30 seconds before the expected end of injury time 57 After the defeat coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticized by AC Milan club president and politician Silvio Berlusconi 58 2000 2004 Trapattoni era Edit Giovanni Trapattoni took charge of the team in July 2000 following the resignation of Dino Zoff 59 Playing in Group 8 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification process Italy finished undefeated after facing Romania Georgia Hungary and Lithuania In the final tournament a 2 0 victory against Ecuador with a double from Christian Vieri was followed by a series of controversial matches During the match against Croatia English referee Graham Poll disallowed two goals resulting in a 2 1 defeat for Italy 60 Despite two goals being ruled for offsides a late headed goal from Alessandro Del Piero helped Italy to a 1 1 draw with Mexico proving enough to advance to the knockout stages 61 Co host country South Korea eliminated Italy in the round of 16 by a score of 2 1 The match proved controversial with members of the Italian team most notably striker Francesco Totti and coach Giovanni Trapattoni suggesting a conspiracy to eliminate Italy from the competition 62 Trapattoni even obliquely accused FIFA of ordering the official to ensure a Korean victory so that one of the two host nations would remain in the tournament 63 The most contentious decisions by the game referee Byron Moreno were an early penalty awarded to South Korea saved by Buffon a golden goal by Damiano Tommasi ruled offside and the sending off of Totti after being presented with a second yellow card for an alleged dive in the penalty area 64 FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that the linesmen had been a disaster and admitted that Italy suffered from bad offside calls during the group matches but he denied conspiracy allegations While questioning Totti s sending off by Moreno Blatter refused to blame Italy s loss entirely on the referees stating Italy s elimination is not only down to referees and linesmen who made human not premeditated errors Italy made mistakes both in defense and in attack 65 Trapattoni stayed on to coach Italy for UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal He guided the team to a first place finish in Group 9 overcoming Wales Serbia and Montenegro Finland and Azerbaijan With draws against Denmark and Sweden along with a victory over Bulgaria in Group C Italy were eliminated following a three way five point tie based on the number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams 66 Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and then Italian football federation president Franco Carraro accused the Swedish and Danish teams of fixing the result 67 Despite calls then UEFA spokesperson Robert Faulkner said the organization would not investigate the result 68 After initially refusing to resign following Italy s elimination from the tournament the Italian Football Federation replaced Tapattoni with Marcello Lippi 69 70 Fourth World Cup title in 2006 Edit Within the crowd in the Circus Maximus in Rome after the Italian team scored against France Italian President Giorgio Napolitano congratulates coach Lippi and captain Cannavaro after the final match against France Lippi made his debut in a 2 0 defeat in Iceland in August 2004 but managed to eventually qualify for 2006 FIFA World Cup 71 72 73 74 With controversy plaguing the domestic league Italy entered the final tournament as one of the eight seeded teams and were drawn into Group E alongside Ghana the United States and the Czech Republic 75 76 77 78 Italy won their opening game 2 0 against the African side with goals from Andrea Pirlo and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta FIFA President Sepp Blatter judged the team s performance as the best among the opening games 79 The second match against the United States ended in a 1 1 draw with Alberto Gilardino s header equalized by Cristian Zaccardo s own goal 80 During the match De Rossi was sent off and later received a four match suspension for elbowing American forward Brian McBride 81 Italy finished first in Group E with a 2 0 win against the Czech Republic with goals from Marco Materazzi and Filippo Inzaghi advancing to the knockout stage 82 In the round of 16 Italy secured a 1 0 victory over Australia with Francesco Totti scoring a penalty after referee Luis Medina Cantalejo judged that Lucas Neill fouled Fabio Grosso 83 Italy overcame Ukraine 3 0 after taking an early lead through Gianluca Zambrotta and additional goals coming from Luca Toni Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto who was in the hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt 84 In the semi finals Italy beat hosts Germany 2 0 with goals Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero in the last minutes of extra time 85 The Azzurri won their fourth World Cup title after defeating France in the final French captain Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring from penalty kick in the seventh minute before Materazzi scored from a corner kick twelve minutes later The score remained level and though extra time and Zidane was sent off for headbutting Materazzi 86 Italy went on to win the penalty shootout 5 3 with all Italian players scoring their kicks 87 FIFA named seven Italian players Gianluigi Buffon Fabio Cannavaro Gianluca Zambrotta Andrea Pirlo Gennaro Gattuso Francesco Totti and Luca Toni to the 23 man tournament All Star Team 88 Buffon also won the Lev Yashin Award given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament he conceded only two goals in the tournament s seven matches the first an own goal by Zaccardo and the second from Zidane s penalty kick in the final and remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes 89 In honour of Italy winning a fourth FIFA World Cup members of the squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere 90 91 2006 2010 Post World Cup decline Edit Marcello Lippi who had announced his resignation three days after the World Cup triumph was replaced by Roberto Donadoni as the new coach of the Azzurri 92 Italy played in the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B along with France Italy won the group with France being the runner up On 14 February 2007 Italy climbed to first in the FIFA World Rankings from second with a total of 1 488 points 37 points ahead of second ranked Argentina This was the second time in the Azzurri s history that it had been ranked in first place the first time being in 1993 they would also be ranked first several times throughout 2007 also in April June and September 41 93 In Euro 2008 the Azzurri lost 3 0 to the Netherlands in the opening match of the group stage The following game against Romania ended 1 1 with a goal by Christian Panucci that came only one minute after Romania s Adrian Mutu capitalized on a mistake by Gianluca Zambrotta to give Romania the lead 94 The result was preserved by Gianluigi Buffon who saved a penalty kick from Mutu in the 80th minute 94 The final group game against France a rematch of the 2006 World Cup Final was a 2 0 Italy win Andrea Pirlo scored from the penalty spot after a foul and red card for France defender Eric Abidal and later a free kick by Daniele De Rossi took a deflection resulting Italy s second goal Romania entering the day a point ahead of the Italians in Group C lost to the Netherlands 2 0 allowing Italy to pass into the quarter finals against eventual champions Spain where they lost 2 4 on penalties after a 0 0 draw after 120 minutes Within a week after the game Roberto Donadoni s contract was terminated and Marcello Lippi was rehired as coach 95 Italy qualified for their first ever FIFA Confederations Cup held in South Africa in June 2009 by virtue of winning the 2006 World Cup They won their opening match of the tournament by a score of 3 1 against the United States but subsequent defeats to Egypt 0 1 and Brazil 0 3 meant that they only finished third in the group on goals scored and were eliminated 96 In October 2009 they achieved qualification after drawing with the Republic of Ireland 2 2 97 On 4 December 2009 the draw for the World Cup was made Italy would be in Group F alongside three underdog teams Paraguay New Zealand and Slovakia 98 At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa reigning champions Italy were unexpectedly eliminated in the first round finishing last place in their group After being held to 1 1 draws by Paraguay and New Zealand they suffered a 3 2 loss to Slovakia 99 It was the first time Italy failed to win a single game at a World Cup finals tournament and in doing so became the third nation to be eliminated in the first round while holding the World Cup crown the first being Brazil in 1966 and the second France in 2002 100 Coincidentally France who had been Italy s adversaries and the losing finalist in the 2006 World Cup were also eliminated without winning a game in the first round in South Africa making it the first time ever that neither finalist of the previous edition were able to reach the second round 101 2010 2014 European Championship runners up Edit The national football team of Italy before the UEFA Euro 2012 Final Olympic Stadium Kyiv 1 July 2012 Marcello Lippi stepped down after Italy s World Cup campaign and was replaced by Cesare Prandelli although Lippi s successor had already been announced before the tournament 102 Italy began their campaign with Prandelli with a 1 0 loss to the Ivory Coast in a friendly match 103 During a Euro 2012 qualifier Italy came back from behind to defeat Estonia 2 1 In the next Euro qualifier Italy dominated the Faroe Islands 5 0 Italy then tied 0 0 with Northern Ireland Five days later Italy played Serbia however Serbian fans in Stadio Luigi Ferraris began to riot throwing flares and shooting fireworks onto the pitch subsequently causing the abandonment of the game 104 Upon UEFA Disciplinary Review Italy was awarded a 3 0 victory that propelled them to the top of their group 105 In their first match of 2011 Italy drew 1 1 a friendly with Germany at Dortmund in the same stadium where they beat Germany 2 0 to advance to the final of the 2006 World Cup 106 In March 2011 Italy won 1 0 over Slovenia to again secure its spot at the top of the qualification table 107 They then defeated Ukraine 2 0 in a friendly despite being reduced to ten men for the late stages of the match 108 With their 3 0 defeat of Estonia in another Euro 2012 qualifier Prandelli s Italy secured the table lead and also achieved 9 undefeated games in a row since their initial debacle The streak was ended on 7 June 2011 by Trapattoni s current charges the Republic of Ireland with Italy losing 0 2 in a friendly in Liege 109 At the beginning of the second season under coach Prandelli on 10 August 2011 Italy defeated the reigning world champions Spain for 2 1 in a friendly match played in Bari s Stadio San Nicola 110 but lost in a friendly to the United States 1 0 on home soil on 29 February 2012 111 Italy started their Euro 2012 campaign with a 1 1 draw against Spain 112 and in the following match they drew 1 1 against Croatia 113 They finished second in their group behind Spain by beating the Republic of Ireland 2 0 which earned them a quarter final match against the winners of group D England After a mostly one sided affair in which Italy failed to take their chances they managed to beat England on penalty kicks even though they were down early in the shootout A save by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon put them ahead after a chip shot from Andrea Pirlo Prandelli s side won the shootout 4 2 114 115 In their next game the first semi final of the competition they faced the Germany team which was tipped by many to be the next European champions 116 117 118 119 120 However two first half goals by Mario Balotelli saw Germany sent home and the Italians went through to the finals to face the title defenders Spain In the final they were unable to repeat their earlier performance against Spain falling 4 0 to lose the championship Prandelli s men were further undone by the string of injuries which left them playing with ten men for the last half hour as substitute Thiago Motta was forced to go off after all three substitutions had been made 121 During the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil Italy started in a group with Mexico Japan and Brazil After beating Mexico 2 1 and Japan 4 3 Italy eventually lost their final group game against tournament hosts Brazil 4 2 Italy then faced Spain in the semi finals in a rematch of the Euro 2012 final Italy lost 7 6 0 0 after extra time in a penalty shoot out after Leonardo Bonucci failed to score his kick 122 Prandelli was praised for his tactics against the current World Cup and European champions 123 Italy was then able to win the match for the third place by defeating Uruguay with the penalty score of 5 4 2 2 after extra time Italy was drawn in UEFA Group B for the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign They won the qualifying group without losing a match Despite this successful run they were not seeded in pot 1 for the final seeding In December 2013 Italy was drawn in Group D against Costa Rica England and Uruguay While Italy defeated England 2 1 in its first match underdogs Costa Rica beat the Italians 1 0 in the second group stage match 124 In Italy s last group match they were knocked out by Uruguay 1 0 due in part to two controversial calls from referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez Mexico In the 59th minute midfielder Claudio Marchisio was sent off for a questionable tackle 125 Later in the 80th minute with the teams knotted at 0 0 which would have sent Italy to the next round Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez bit defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder but was not sent off 126 127 Uruguay went on to score moments later in the 81st minute with a Diego Godin header from a corner kick winning the game 1 0 and eliminating Italy This marked Italy s second consecutive failure to reach the round of 16 at the World Cup finals Shortly after this loss coach Cesare Prandelli resigned 128 2014 2016 Euro 2016 campaign Edit The successful former Juventus manager Antonio Conte was selected to replace Cesare Prandelli as coach after the 2014 World Cup Conte s debut as manager was against 2014 World Cup semi finalists the Netherlands in which Italy won 2 0 Italy s first defeat under Conte came ten games in to his empowerment from a 1 0 international friendly loss against Portugal on 16 June 2015 129 On 10 October 2015 Italy qualified for Euro 2016 courtesy of a 3 1 win over Azerbaijan 130 the result meant that Italy had managed to go 50 games unbeaten in European qualifiers 131 Three days later with a 2 1 win over Norway Italy topped their Euro 2016 qualifying group with 24 points four points clear of second placed Croatia 132 With a similar fate to the 2014 World Cup group stage draw Italy were not top seeded into the first pot This had Italy see a draw with Belgium Sweden and the Republic of Ireland in Group E 133 On 4 April 2016 it was announced that Antonio Conte would step down as Italy coach after Euro 2016 to become head coach of English club Chelsea at the start of the 2016 17 Premier League season 134 The 23 man squad which was initially criticized by many fans and members of the media for its tactics and level of quality 135 saw notable absences with Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco controversially left out 136 and Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti omitted due to injury 137 138 Italy opened Euro 2016 with a 2 0 victory over Belgium on 13 June 139 Italy qualified for the round of 16 with one game to spare on 17 June with a lone goal by Eder for the victory against Sweden the first time they won the second group game in a major international tournament since Euro 2000 140 Italy also finished top of the group for the first time in a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup 141 Italy defeated reigning European champions Spain 2 0 in the round of 16 match on 27 June 142 Italy then faced off against the reigning World champions rivals Germany in the quarter finals Mesut Ozil opened the scoring in the 65th minute for Germany before Leonardo Bonucci converted a penalty in the 78th minute for Italy The score remained 1 1 after extra time and Germany beat Italy 6 5 in the ensuing penalty shoot out It was the first time Germany overcame Italy in a major tournament 143 144 Failure to qualify for 2018 World Cup Edit For the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Italy were placed into the second pot due to being in 17th place in the FIFA World Rankings at the time of the group draws Italy were drawn with Spain from pot one on 25 July 2015 145 After Conte s planned departure following Euro 2016 Gian Piero Ventura took over as manager for the team on 18 July 2016 signing a two year contract 146 His first match at the helm was a friendly against France held at the Stadio San Nicola on 1 September which ended in a 3 1 loss 147 Four days later he won his first competitive match in charge of Italy the team s opening 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Israel at Haifa which ended in a 3 1 victory for Italy 148 After Italy won all of their qualifying matches except for a 1 1 draw at home to Macedonia as well as a 1 1 draw with Spain at home on 6 October 2016 and a 3 0 loss away to Spain on 2 September 2017 Italy finished in Group G in second place five points behind Spain 149 150 Italy were then required to go through the play off against Sweden After a 1 0 aggregate loss to Sweden on 13 November 2017 Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup the first time they failed to qualify for the World Cup since 1958 151 Immediately following the match veterans Andrea Barzagli Daniele De Rossi and captain Gianluigi Buffon all declared their retirement from the national team 152 153 154 155 On 15 November 2017 Ventura was dismissed as head coach 156 and on 20 November 2017 Carlo Tavecchio resigned as president of the Italian Football Federation 157 158 2018 present Mancini era Edit Resurgence and second European title Edit On 5 February 2018 the Italy U21 manager Luigi Di Biagio was appointed as the caretaker manager of the senior team 159 On 17 March 2018 despite the initial decision to retire by veterans Buffon and Chiellini they were both called up for Italy s March 2018 friendlies by caretaker manager Di Biagio 160 Following the March friendlies against Argentina and England in which Italy were defeated and drew respectively on 12 April 2018 Italy dropped six places to their lowest FIFA World Ranking at the time to 20th place 161 On 14 May 2018 Roberto Mancini was announced as the new manager 162 On 28 May 2018 Italy won their first match under Mancini a 2 1 victory in a friendly over Saudi Arabia 163 On 16 August 2018 in the FIFA World Ranking that followed the 2018 World Cup Italy dropped two places to their lowest ever ranking to 21st place 164 On 7 September 2018 Italy participated in the inaugural UEFA Nations League drawing their first match of the tournament against Poland in Bologna with a score of 1 1 165 On 12 October 2019 Italy qualified for Euro 2020 with three matches to spare after a 2 0 home win over Greece 166 On 18 November Italy finished Group J with ten wins in all ten matches becoming only the sixth national side to qualify for a European Championship with a perfect record and the seventh instance after France 1992 and 2004 Czech Republic 2000 Germany Spain both 2012 and England 2016 167 On 17 March 2020 UEFA confirmed that Euro 2020 had been postponed by one year in response to the COVID 19 pandemic in Europe 168 On 18 November 2020 with a 2 0 away win over Bosnia and Herzegovina Italy finished first in their 2020 21 UEFA Nations League group and qualified for the Finals of the tournament 169 170 President of Italy Sergio Mattarella right congratulates captain Chiellini in Rome the day after Italy s triumph at UEFA Euro 2020 In June 2021 Italy started its venture at the UEFA Euro 2020 in Group A along with Turkey Switzerland and Wales Being one of the host nations Italy played all three group games at home at Rome s Stadio Olimpico Italy opened the tournament with a 3 0 win over Turkey 171 172 Italy then managed to overcome a highly defensive Switzerland with another 3 0 win with Manuel Locatelli scoring twice and Ciro Immobile netting the last goal to seal a place into the round of 16 with a game to spare despite captain Giorgio Chiellini suffering an injury 173 174 Having already secured a place in the knockout phase Italy beat Wales 1 0 with a heavily rotated squad with Matteo Pessina scoring the only goal in the first half to ensure the side finished with a perfect record in the group stage 175 176 Italy became the first team in European Championship history to win each group stage match without conceding 177 In the round of 16 played at Wembley Stadium Italy struggled against Austria and it was only in the first period of extra time that Italian substitutes Federico Chiesa and Pessina each delivered a goal to give Italy a 2 0 lead Despite substitute Sasa Kalajdzic salvaging a goal for Austria in the second half of extra time the first goal conceded by the Italians at the tournament Italy held on to reach the quarter finals 178 179 Italy s quarter final encounter against Belgium played in Munich s Allianz Arena saw strong Italian domination as Nicolo Barella beat Thibaut Courtois to score in the 31st minute before Lorenzo Insigne doubled Italy s lead in the 44th minute with a powerful strike Belgium s Romelu Lukaku then converted a successful penalty during stoppage time of the first half Despite an achilles injury in the second half to Leonardo Spinazzola that ruled him out for the rest of the tournament 180 Italy once again held the scoreline to eliminate the Belgians 181 182 The victory set a new record for the longest European Championship winning streak at 15 including both qualifying and the final tournament 183 Italy then returned to Wembley to face Spain in the semi finals the fourth consecutive European Championship where the two sides met In a tight game dominated by possession football Italy got the breakthrough from Chiesa after 60 minutes however 20 minutes later Alvaro Morata equalised for Spain to level the match at 1 1 No further goals were scored in extra time resulting in a penalty shoot out both Locatelli and Dani Olmo failed to score the first penalties for their respective sides before Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Spain s fourth kick from Morata Jorginho then scored the subsequent penalty to take Italy to their first European final since 2012 184 185 On 11 July 2021 Italy won the UEFA Euro 2020 by a 3 2 victory on a penalty shoot out after a 1 1 draw Bonucci equalized in the second half to cancel out the opening goal scored by Shaw in extra time against England in the final held in London 186 Italy won their second European Championship title 53 years after the first won at home in 1968 On 16 July all members of the European Championship winning squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere 187 Failure to qualify for 2022 World Cup Edit In October 2021 Italy participated in the UEFA Nations League Finals held at home On 6 October Italy played the semi final against Spain losing 2 1 at San Siro 188 This match caused the end of the record of 37 unbeaten matches more than 3 years after the last defeat Four days later Italy won the third place final 2 1 against Belgium at the Juventus Stadium 189 On 15 November 2021 Italy drew 0 0 with Northern Ireland in their final 2022 World Cup qualifying Group C match and finished in second place two points behind Switzerland 190 Italy were then required to go through the second round of qualifying again 190 On 24 March 2022 Italy lost 1 0 in the semi final of the play offs against North Macedonia in Palermo at Stadio Renzo Barbera failing to qualify for the World Cup for a second consecutive time 191 On 1 June 2022 Italy took part in the CONMEBOL UEFA Cup of Champions match rebranded as the 2022 Finalissima losing 3 0 against Argentina in London 192 Italy qualified to the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals on 26 September after beating Hungary 2 0 in Budapest 193 Rivalries Edit Matches between Italy and Croatia are known as Adriatic Derbies as they are separated by the Adriatic Sea Pictured An Adriatic Derby at Euro 2012 Italy vs Brazil Matches between the nations are known as the World Derby Portuguese Clasico Mundial in Portuguese 194 The most successful football nations in the world they have achieved nine World Cups between one another Since their first match at the 1938 World Cup they have played against each other a total of five times in the World Cup most notably in the 1970 World Cup Final and the 1994 World Cup final in which Brazil won 4 1 and 3 2 on penalties after a goalless draw respectively 195 Italy vs Croatia Matches between the two nations are known as an Adriatic Derby Italian Derby Adriatico a named after the Adriatic Sea that separates them 196 197 198 Italy has never won against Croatia b with most fixtures played in qualifications and at tournament 199 200 The two sides have competed in the qualifiers and group stages of Euro 1994 Euro 2012 and Euro 2016 with multiple incidences of crowd trouble and flares being thrown onto the pitch 201 202 They have only met at the 2002 World Cup in a group stage match where Croatia came from behind to beat Italy 2 1 after two Italian goals were controversially disallowed 203 Italy vs Spain Matches between the nations are known as the Mediterranean Derby Spanish Rivalidad futbolistica Italia Espana named after the Mediterranean Sea that separates the two nations 204 has been contested since 1920 and although the two nations are not immediate geographical neighbours their rivalry at international level is enhanced by the strong performances of the representative clubs in UEFA competitions in which they are among the leading associations and have each enjoyed spells of dominance 205 206 Since the quarterfinal match between the two countries at Euro 2008 the rivalry has renewed with its most notable match between the two sides being in the UEFA Euro 2012 Final which Spain won 4 0 207 208 Italy vs France Matches between the two nations officially began on 15 May 1910 Italy s first recorded match ending in a 6 2 victory 209 210 Notable matches in the World Cup and the European Football Championship include the 2006 World Cup Final when the Italians defeated the French 5 3 in the penalty shoot out after a 1 1 draw and the 2000 European Championship won by France with an extra time golden goal by David Trezeguet 211 Italy vs Germany Matches between the two nations have cumulated in five matches in the World Cup notably in the Game of the Century the 1970 World Cup semifinal between the two countries that Italy won 4 3 in extra time with five of the seven goals coming in extra time 212 Germany has also won three European Championships while Italy has won it twice The two countries have faced each other four times in the European championship with three draws one German penalty shoot out victory and one Italian victory 213 Germany had never defeated Italy in a major tournament match until their victory in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals on penalties though statistically considered a draw with all Germany s other wins over Italy being in friendly competitions 144 Team image EditKits and crest Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Italy national football team kits Italy in 1910 wearing the original white jersey They would switch to the traditional blue shirt a year later The blue shirt had a House of Savoy badge during the early 1930s Italy s classic kit worn by Giacinto Facchetti in 1968 The first shirt worn by the Italy national team in its debut against France on 15 May 1910 was white The choice of colour was due to the fact that a decision about the appearance of the kit had not yet been made so it was decided not to have a colour which was why white was chosen 214 After two games for a friendly against Hungary in Milan on 6 January 1911 the white shirt was replaced by a blue jersey specifically savoy azure blue being the border colour of the royal House of Savoy crest used on the flag of the Kingdom of Italy 1861 1946 the shirt was accompanied by white shorts and black socks which later became blue 214 The team later became known as gli Azzurri the Blues 214 215 216 217 In the 1930s Italy wore a black kit ordered by the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini The black kit debuted on 17 February 1935 in a friendly against France at the Stadio Nazionale PNF in Rome 218 A blue shirt white shorts and black socks were worn at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin the following year At the 1938 FIFA World Cup in France the all black kit was worn once in the match against France 219 After World War II the fascist regime fell and the monarchy was abolished in 1946 The same year saw the birth of the Italian Republic and the blue and white kit was reinstated The cross of the former Royal House of Savoy was removed from the flag of Italy and consequently from the national team s badge now consisting solely of the Tricolore For the 1954 FIFA World Cup the country s name in Italian ITALIA was placed above the tricolour shield and for the 1982 FIFA World Cup FIGC the abbreviation of the Italian Football Federation was incorporated into the badge 214 In 1983 to celebrate the victory at the World Cup of the previous year three gold stars replaced ITALIA above the tricolour representing their three World Cup victories until that point In 1984 a round emblem was launched featuring the three stars the inscriptions ITALIA and FIGC and the tricolour 214 The first known kit manufacturer was Adidas in 1974 From 2003 to 2022 the kit was made by Puma 214 Since the 2000s an all blue uniform including blue shorts has occasionally been used particularity in international tournaments 214 After Italy s 2006 World Cup victory a fourth star was added to the tricolour badge In March 2022 after almost 20 years with Puma it was announced that Adidas will be Italy s kit manufacturer from 2023 220 Kit supplier PeriodNo supplier 1910 1974 Adidas 1974 1979 Le Coq Sportif 1980 1986 Diadora 1986 1995 Nike 1996 1999 Kappa 2000 2002 Puma 2003 2022 Adidas 2023 presentResults and fixtures EditMain article Italy national football team results Further information Italy national football team results 2010 present and 2022 23 in Italian football Win Draw Loss Fixtures 2022 Edit Italy v North Macedonia 24 March 2022 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification play offItaly 0 1 North MacedoniaPalermo Italy20 45 CET UTC 01 00 Report Trajkovski 90 2 Stadium Stadio Renzo Barbera Attendance 34 129Referee Clement Turpin France Turkey v Italy 29 March 2022 International friendlyTurkey 2 3 ItalyKonya Turkey20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Under 4 Dursun 83 Report Cristante 35 Raspadori 39 70 Stadium Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium Attendance 40 000Referee Enea Jorgji Albania Italy v Argentina 1 June 2022 2022 FinalissimaItaly 0 3 ArgentinaLondon England20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Report La Martinez 28 Di Maria 45 1 Dybala 90 4 Stadium Wembley Stadium Attendance 87 112Referee Piero Maza Chile Italy v Germany 4 June 2022 2022 23 UEFA Nations LeagueItaly 1 1 GermanyBologna Italy20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Pellegrini 70 Report Kimmich 73 Stadium Stadio Renato Dall Ara Attendance 23 754Referee Srđan Jovanovic Serbia Italy v Hungary 7 June 2022 2022 23 UEFA Nations LeagueItaly 2 1 HungaryCesena Italy20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Barella 30 Pellegrini 45 Report Mancini 61 o g Stadium Stadio Dino Manuzzi Attendance 14 942Referee Sandro Scharer Switzerland England v Italy 11 June 2022 2022 23 UEFA Nations LeagueEngland 0 0 ItalyWolverhampton England20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Report Stadium Molineux Stadium Attendance 1 782 note 1 Referee Szymon Marciniak Poland Germany v Italy 14 June 2022 2022 23 UEFA Nations LeagueGermany 5 2 ItalyMonchengladbach Germany20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Kimmich 10 Gundogan 45 4 pen Muller 51 Werner 68 69 Report Gnonto 78 Bastoni 90 4 Stadium Borussia Park Attendance 44 144Referee Istvan Kovacs Romania Italy v England 23 September 2022 2022 23 UEFA Nations LeagueItaly 1 0 EnglandMilan Italy20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Raspadori 68 Report Stadium San Siro Attendance 50 640Referee Jesus Gil Manzano Spain Hungary v Italy 26 September 2022 2022 23 UEFA Nations LeagueHungary 0 2 ItalyBudapest Hungary20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Report Raspadori 27 Dimarco 52 Stadium Puskas Arena Attendance 57 300Referee Benoit Bastien France Albania v Italy 16 November 2022 International friendlyAlbania 1 3 ItalyTirana Albania20 45 CET UTC 01 00 Ismajli 16 Report Di Lorenzo 20 Grifo 25 64 Stadium Arena Kombetare Attendance 22 000Referee Genc Nuza Kosovo Austria v Italy 20 November 2022 International friendlyAustria 2 0 ItalyVienna Austria20 45 CET UTC 01 00 Schlager 6 Alaba 35 Report Stadium Ernst Happel Stadion Attendance 18 000Referee Christian Dingert Germany 2023 Edit Italy v England 23 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingItaly v EnglandNapoli Italy20 45 CET UTC 01 00 Report Stadium Stadio Diego Armando Maradona Malta v Italy 26 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingMalta v ItalyTa Qali Malta20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Report Stadium National Stadium Spain v Italy 15 June 2023 2022 23 UEFA Nations League SFSpain v ItalyEnschede Netherlands20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Report Stadium De Grolsch Veste v 18 June 2023 2022 23 UEFA Nations League 3rd F v Netherlands CEST UTC 02 00 North Macedonia v Italy 9 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingNorth Macedonia v ItalyNorth Macedonia20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Report Italy v Ukraine 12 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingItaly v UkraineItaly20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Report Italy v Malta 14 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingItaly v MaltaItaly20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Report England v Italy 17 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingEngland v ItalyLondon England20 45 CEST UTC 02 00 Report Stadium Wembley Stadium Italy v North Macedonia 17 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingItaly v North MacedoniaItaly20 45 CET UTC 01 00 Report Ukraine v Italy 20 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifyingUkraine v Italy note 2 20 45 CET UTC 01 00 ReportCoaching staff EditMain article List of Italy national football team managers Roberto Mancini the current head coach of Italy national football team During the earliest days of Italian nation football it was common for a Technical Commission to be appointed The Commission took the role that a standard coach would currently play Ever since 1967 the national team has been controlled only by the coach For this reason the coach of the Italy national team is still called Technical Commissioner Italian Commissario tecnico or CT The use of this title has since then expanded into other team sports in Italy Position StaffHead coach Roberto ManciniAssistant coach Alberico EvaniAssistants Attilio Lombardo Giulio Nuciari Fausto SalsanoGoalkeeping coach Massimo BattaraHead of delegation VacantTeam manager Gabriele OrialiAthletic trainers Valter Di Salvo Andrea Scanavino Claudio DonatelliMatch analyst Simone ContranDoctors Andrea Ferretti Angelo De Carli Carmine CostabileNutritionist Matteo PincellaPhysiotherapists Mauro Doimi Fabio Sannino Emanuele Randelli Fabrizio ScalziOsteopath Walter MartinelliSecretary Emiliano CozziSource 223 Players EditMain article List of Italy international footballers Current squad Edit The following players were selected for the friendly matches against Albania and Austria on 16 and 20 November 2022 respectively 224 Information correct as of 20 November 2022 after the match against Austria No Pos Player Date of birth age Caps Goals Club1 1 GK Gianluigi Donnarumma 1999 02 25 25 February 1999 age 23 50 0 Paris Saint Germain21 1 GK Alex Meret 1997 03 22 22 March 1997 age 25 3 0 Napoli24 1 GK Ivan Provedel 1994 03 17 17 March 1994 age 28 0 0 Lazio25 1 GK Guglielmo Vicario 1996 10 07 7 October 1996 age 26 0 0 Empoli2 2 DF Giovanni Di Lorenzo 1993 08 04 4 August 1993 age 29 25 3 Napoli3 2 DF Federico Dimarco 1997 11 10 10 November 1997 age 25 8 1 Inter Milan5 2 DF Giorgio Scalvini 2003 12 11 11 December 2003 age 19 3 0 Atalanta7 2 DF Fabiano Parisi 2000 11 09 9 November 2000 age 22 0 0 Empoli13 2 DF Federico Gatti 1998 06 24 24 June 1998 age 24 2 0 Juventus15 2 DF Francesco Acerbi 1988 02 10 10 February 1988 age 35 28 1 Inter Milan19 2 DF Leonardo Bonucci captain 1987 05 01 1 May 1987 age 35 120 8 Juventus23 2 DF Alessandro Bastoni 1999 04 13 13 April 1999 age 23 17 1 Inter Milan4 3 MF Samuele Ricci 2001 08 21 21 August 2001 age 21 2 0 Torino6 3 MF Marco Verratti 1992 11 05 5 November 1992 age 30 51 3 Paris Saint Germain12 3 MF Matteo Pessina 1997 04 21 21 April 1997 age 25 15 4 Monza16 3 MF Fabio Miretti 2003 08 03 3 August 2003 age 19 1 0 Juventus18 3 MF Nicolo Barella 1997 02 07 7 February 1997 age 26 42 8 Inter Milan8 4 FW Simone Pafundi 2006 03 14 14 March 2006 age 16 1 0 Udinese9 4 FW Andrea Pinamonti 1999 05 19 19 May 1999 age 23 1 0 Sassuolo10 4 FW Giacomo Raspadori 2000 02 18 18 February 2000 age 22 17 5 Napoli11 4 FW Wilfried Gnonto 2003 11 05 5 November 2003 age 19 8 1 Leeds United14 4 FW Federico Chiesa 1997 10 25 25 October 1997 age 25 40 4 Juventus17 4 FW Matteo Politano 1993 08 03 3 August 1993 age 29 8 3 Napoli20 4 FW Vincenzo Grifo 1993 04 07 7 April 1993 age 29 8 4 SC Freiburg22 4 FW Nicolo Zaniolo 1999 07 02 2 July 1999 age 23 11 2 GalatasarayRecent call ups Edit The following players have also been called up for the team within the last twelve months Pos Player Date of birth age Caps Goals Club Latest call upGK Alessio Cragno 1994 06 28 28 June 1994 age 28 2 0 Monza v Germany 14 June 2022GK Pierluigi Gollini 1995 03 18 18 March 1995 age 27 1 0 Napoli v Germany 14 June 2022GK Salvatore Sirigu 1987 01 12 12 January 1987 age 36 28 0 Fiorentina v Argentina 1 June 2022DF Emerson Palmieri 1994 08 03 3 August 1994 age 28 28 0 West Ham United v Albania 16 November 2022 INJDF Rafael Toloi 1990 10 10 10 October 1990 age 32 10 0 Atalanta v Albania 16 November 2022 INJDF Pasquale Mazzocchi 1995 07 27 27 July 1995 age 27 1 0 Salernitana v Albania 16 November 2022 INJDF Luiz Felipe 1997 03 22 22 March 1997 age 25 1 0 Real Betis v Hungary 26 September 2022DF Leonardo Spinazzola 1993 03 25 25 March 1993 age 29 21 0 Roma v Germany 14 June 2022DF Gianluca Mancini 1996 04 17 17 April 1996 age 26 9 0 Roma v Germany 14 June 2022DF Davide Calabria 1996 12 06 6 December 1996 age 26 7 0 AC Milan v Germany 14 June 2022DF Alessandro Florenzi 1991 03 11 11 March 1991 age 31 49 2 AC Milan v England 11 June 2022DF Cristiano Biraghi 1992 09 01 1 September 1992 age 30 13 1 Fiorentina v Hungary 7 June 2022 INJDF Giorgio Chiellini 1984 08 14 14 August 1984 age 38 117 8 Los Angeles FC v Argentina 1 June 2022 RETDF Manuel Lazzari 1993 11 29 29 November 1993 age 29 3 0 Lazio v Argentina 1 June 2022DF Mattia De Sciglio 1992 10 20 20 October 1992 age 30 40 0 Juventus v Turkey 29 March 2022MF Bryan Cristante 1995 03 03 3 March 1995 age 27 29 2 Roma v Albania 16 November 2022 INJMF Sandro Tonali 2000 05 08 8 May 2000 age 22 12 0 AC Milan v Albania 16 November 2022 INJMF Davide Frattesi 1999 09 22 22 September 1999 age 23 4 0 Sassuolo v Albania 16 November 2022 INJMF Nicolo Fagioli 2001 02 12 12 February 2001 age 22 1 0 Juventus v Albania 16 November 2022 INJMF Jorginho 1991 12 20 20 December 1991 age 31 46 5 Arsenal v Hungary 26 September 2022MF Tommaso Pobega 1999 07 15 15 July 1999 age 23 3 0 AC Milan v Hungary 26 September 2022MF Salvatore Esposito 2000 10 07 7 October 2000 age 22 1 0 Spezia v Hungary 26 September 2022MF Lorenzo Pellegrini 1996 06 19 19 June 1996 age 26 24 5 Roma v England 23 September 2022 INJMF Manuel Locatelli 1998 01 08 8 January 1998 age 25 24 3 Juventus v Germany 14 June 2022MF Stefano Sensi 1995 08 05 5 August 1995 age 27 9 3 Monza v Turkey 29 March 2022FW Gianluca Scamacca 1999 01 01 1 January 1999 age 24 9 0 West Ham United v Albania 16 November 2022 INJFW Manolo Gabbiadini 1991 11 26 26 November 1991 age 31 13 2 Sampdoria v Hungary 26 September 2022FW Matteo Cancellieri 2002 02 12 12 February 2002 age 21 1 0 Lazio v Hungary 26 September 2022FW Alessio Zerbin 1999 03 03 3 March 1999 age 23 1 0 Napoli v Hungary 26 September 2022FW Ciro Immobile 1990 02 20 20 February 1990 age 32 55 15 Lazio v England 23 September 2022 INJFW Gianluca Caprari 1993 07 30 30 July 1993 age 29 1 0 Monza v Germany 14 June 2022FW Andrea Belotti 1993 12 20 20 December 1993 age 29 44 12 Roma v Hungary 7 June 2022FW Lorenzo Insigne 1991 06 04 4 June 1991 age 31 54 10 Toronto FC v Argentina 1 June 2022FW Federico Bernardeschi 1994 02 16 16 February 1994 age 28 39 6 Toronto FC v Argentina 1 June 2022FW Domenico Berardi 1994 08 01 1 August 1994 age 28 24 6 Sassuolo v Argentina 1 June 2022 INJFW Moise Kean 2000 02 28 28 February 2000 age 22 12 4 Juventus v Argentina 1 June 2022 INJFW Mattia Zaccagni 1995 06 16 16 June 1995 age 27 1 0 Lazio v Argentina 1 June 2022 INJFW Joao Pedro 1992 03 09 9 March 1992 age 30 1 0 Fenerbahce v Turkey 29 March 2022INJ Withdrew due to injury RET Retired from the national teamPrevious squads Edit Main article List of Italy national football team World Cup and European Championship squads FIFA World Cup1934 FIFA World Cup squad 1938 FIFA World Cup squad 1950 FIFA World Cup squad 1954 FIFA World Cup squad 1962 FIFA World Cup squad 1966 FIFA World Cup squad 1970 FIFA World Cup squad 1974 FIFA World Cup squad 1978 FIFA World Cup squad 1982 FIFA World Cup squad 1986 FIFA World Cup squad 1990 FIFA World Cup squad 1994 FIFA World Cup squad 1998 FIFA World Cup squad 2002 FIFA World Cup squad 2006 FIFA World Cup squad 2010 FIFA World Cup squad 2014 FIFA World Cup squad UEFA European ChampionshipUEFA Euro 1968 squad UEFA Euro 1980 squad UEFA Euro 1988 squad UEFA Euro 1996 squad UEFA Euro 2000 squad UEFA Euro 2004 squad UEFA Euro 2008 squad UEFA Euro 2012 squad UEFA Euro 2016 squad UEFA Euro 2020 squad FIFA Confederations Cup2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squad 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup squadUEFA Nations League Finals2021 UEFA Nations League Finals squadCONMEBOL UEFA Cup of Champions2022 CONMEBOL UEFA Cup of Champions squadIndividual records EditMain articles Italy national football team records and statistics and List of Italy international footballers Player records Edit Most capped players Edit Gianluigi Buffon is the most capped player in the history of Italy with 176 caps As of 20 November 2022 the players with the most appearances for Italy are 225 Rank Player Caps Goals Period1 Gianluigi Buffon 176 0 1997 20182 Fabio Cannavaro 136 2 1997 20103 Paolo Maldini 126 7 1988 20024 Leonardo Bonucci 120 8 2010 present5 Giorgio Chiellini 117 8 2004 2022Daniele De Rossi 117 21 2004 20177 Andrea Pirlo 116 13 2002 20158 Dino Zoff 112 0 1968 19839 Gianluca Zambrotta 98 2 1999 201010 Giacinto Facchetti 94 3 1963 1977Players in bold are still active in the national football team Top goalscorers Edit Gigi Riva is the top scorer in the history of Italy with 35 goals As of 20 November 2022 the players with the most goals for Italy are 226 Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Period1 Gigi Riva list 35 42 0 83 1965 19742 Giuseppe Meazza 33 53 0 62 1930 19393 Silvio Piola 30 34 0 88 1935 19524 Roberto Baggio 27 56 0 48 1988 2004Alessandro Del Piero 91 0 3 1995 20086 Adolfo Baloncieri 25 47 0 53 1920 1930Filippo Inzaghi 57 0 44 1997 2007Alessandro Altobelli 61 0 41 1980 19889 Christian Vieri 23 49 0 47 1997 2005Francesco Graziani 64 0 36 1975 1983Players in bold are still active in the national football team Captains Edit Main article List of Italy national football team captains List of captaincy periods of the various captains throughout the years 227 1910 Francesco Cali 1911 1914 Giuseppe Milano 1914 1915 Virgilio Fossati 1920 1925 Renzo De Vecchi 1925 1927 Luigi Cevenini 1927 1930 Adolfo Baloncieri 1931 1934 Umberto Caligaris 1934 Gianpiero Combi 1935 1936 Luigi Allemandi 1937 1939 Giuseppe Meazza 1940 1947 Silvio Piola 1947 1949 Valentino Mazzola 1949 1950 Riccardo Carapellese 1951 1952 Carlo Annovazzi 1952 1960 Giampiero Boniperti 1961 1962 Lorenzo Buffon 1962 1963 Cesare Maldini 1963 1966 Sandro Salvadore 1966 1977 Giacinto Facchetti 1977 1983 Dino Zoff 1983 1985 Marco Tardelli 1985 1986 Gaetano Scirea 1986 1987 Antonio Cabrini 1988 1991 Giuseppe Bergomi 1991 1994 Franco Baresi 1994 2002 Paolo Maldini 2002 2010 Fabio Cannavaro nb 1 2010 2018 Gianluigi Buffon nb 2 2018 2022 Giorgio Chiellini 2022 present Leonardo Bonucci Hat tricks Edit Main article List of Italy national football team hat tricks Manager records Edit Main articles List of Italy national football team managers and Italy national football team records and statistics Most manager appearances Enzo Bearzot 104 237 Team records EditMain article Italy national football team records and statistics Largest victory 9 0 vs United States 2 August 1948 Largest defeat 1 7 vs Hungary 6 April 1924Competitive record EditFor the all time record see Italy national football team all time record Champions Runners up Third place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil FIFA World Cup Edit Main article Italy at the FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup record Qualification recordYear Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA 1930 did not enter did not enter 1934 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 12 3 1 1 0 0 4 0 1938 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 11 5 Qualified as defending champions 1950 Group stage 7th 2 1 0 1 4 3 Qualified as defending champions 1954 10th 3 1 0 2 6 7 2 2 0 0 7 2 1958 did not qualify 4 2 0 2 5 5 1962 Group stage 9th 3 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 0 0 10 2 1966 9th 3 1 0 2 2 2 6 4 1 1 17 3 1970 Runners up 2nd 6 3 2 1 10 8 4 3 1 0 10 3 1974 Group stage 10th 3 1 1 1 5 4 6 4 2 0 12 0 1978 Fourth place 4th 7 4 1 2 9 6 6 5 0 1 18 4 1982 Champions 1st 7 4 3 0 12 6 8 5 2 1 12 5 1986 Round of 16 12th 4 1 2 1 5 6 Qualified as defending champions 1990 Third place 3rd 7 6 1 0 10 2 Qualified as hosts 1994 Runners up 2nd 7 4 2 1 8 5 10 7 2 1 22 7 1998 Quarter finals 5th 5 3 2 0 8 3 10 6 4 0 13 2 2002 Round of 16 15th 4 1 1 2 5 5 8 6 2 0 16 3 2006 Champions 1st 7 5 2 0 12 2 10 7 2 1 17 8 2010 Group stage 26th 3 0 2 1 4 5 10 7 3 0 18 7 2014 22nd 3 1 0 2 2 3 10 6 4 0 19 9 2018 did not qualify 12 7 3 2 21 9 2022 9 4 4 1 13 3 2026 To be determined To be determinedTotal 4 titles 18 22 83 45 21 17 128 77 118 78 30 10 234 72 Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot out Italy s World Cup recordFirst match Italy 7 1 United States 27 May 1934 Rome Italy Biggest win Italy 7 1 United States 27 May 1934 Rome Italy Biggest defeat Switzerland 4 1 Italy 23 June 1954 Basel Switzerland Brazil 4 1 Italy 21 June 1970 Mexico City Mexico Best result Champions in 1934 1938 1982 and 2006Worst result 26th place in 2010 group stage UEFA European Championship Edit Main article Italy at the UEFA European Championship UEFA European Championship record Qualification recordYear Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA 1960 did not enter did not enter 1964 did not qualify 4 2 1 1 8 3 1968 Champions 1st 3 1 2 0 3 1 8 6 1 1 21 6 1972 did not qualify 8 4 3 1 13 6 1976 6 2 3 1 3 3 1980 Fourth place 4th 4 1 3 0 2 1 Qualified as hosts 1984 did not qualify 8 1 3 4 6 12 1988 Semi finals 3rd 4 2 1 1 4 3 8 6 1 1 16 4 1992 did not qualify 8 3 4 1 12 5 1996 Group stage 10th 3 1 1 1 3 3 10 7 2 1 20 6 2000 Runners up 2nd 6 4 1 1 9 4 8 4 3 1 13 5 2004 Group stage 9th 3 1 2 0 3 2 8 5 2 1 17 4 2008 Quarter finals 8th 4 1 2 1 3 4 12 9 2 1 22 9 2012 Runners up 2nd 6 2 3 1 6 7 10 8 2 0 20 2 2016 Quarter finals 5th 5 3 1 1 6 2 10 7 3 0 16 7 2020 Champions 1st 7 5 2 0 13 4 10 10 0 0 37 4 2024 To be determined To be determinedTotal 2 titles 10 16 45 21 18 6 52 31 118 74 30 14 224 76 Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot out Italy s European Championship recordFirst match Italy 0 0 Soviet Union 5 June 1968 Naples Italy Biggest win Turkey 0 3 Italy 11 June 2021 Rome Italy Italy 3 0 Switzerland 16 June 2021 Rome Italy Biggest defeat Spain 4 0 Italy 1 July 2012 Kyiv Ukraine Best result Champion, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library, article, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games. |