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{{Infobox National football team
{{Short description|Men's association football team}}
{{About|the men's team|the women's team|Italy women's national football team}}
| Name = Italy
{{Redirect|Gli Azzurri|other uses|Azzurri (disambiguation){{!}}Azzurri}}
| Badge = Italy national football team logo 4 stars.jpg
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
| Badge_size = 125px
{{Infobox national football team
| FIFA Trigramme = ITA
| FIFA Rank = 1
| Name = Italy
| FIFA max = 1
| Nickname = ''Gli Azzurri'' (The [[Savoy blue|Blues]])
| Badge = Logo Italy National Football Team - 2023.svg
| FIFA max date = November 1993<br/>February 2007
| FIFA min = 16
| Badge_size = 135px
| Association = [[Italian Football Federation]]<br />(''Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio'', FIGC)
| FIFA min date = April 1998
| Elo Rank = 3
| Sub-confederation =
| Elo min = 21
| Confederation = [[UEFA]] (Europe)
| Elo min date = November 1959
| Coach = [[Luciano Spalletti]]
| Elo max = 1
| Captain = [[Gianluigi Donnarumma]]
| Most caps = [[Gianluigi Buffon]] (176)
| Elo max date = June 1934-March 1940<br/>December 1940-November 1945<br/>July 2006-August 2006
| Top scorer = [[Gigi Riva]] ([[List of international goals scored by Gigi Riva|35]])
| Nickname = ''<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Azzurri</span>'' (Blues)
| FIFA Trigramme = ITA
| Association = <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''[[Italian Football Federation|Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio]]''</span><br/>(Italian Football Federation)
| FIFA Rank = {{FIFA World Rankings|ITA}}
| Confederation = [[UEFA]] ([[Europe]])
| Coach = [[Roberto Donadoni]] (2006-)
| FIFA max = 1
| FIFA max date = {{Nowrap|November 1993,}} {{nowrap|February 2007,}} {{nowrap|April–June 2007,}} {{nowrap|September 2007}}
| Captain = [[Fabio Cannavaro]]
| Most caps = [[Paolo Maldini]] (126)
| FIFA min = 21
| Top scorer = [[Luigi Riva]] (35)
| FIFA min date = June 2018
| Home Stadium = ''[[List of football stadiums in Italy|Various]]''
| pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
| pattern_la1 = _ita24h
| leftarm1=007FFF|body1=007FFF|rightarm1=007FFF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=007FFF
| pattern_b1 = _ita24h
| pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
| pattern_ra1 = _ita24h
| leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=007FFF|socks2=FFFFFF
| pattern_sh1 = _ita24h
| First game = {{flagicon|Italy|old}} Italy 6 - 2 [[France national football team|France]] {{Flagicon|France}}<br/>([[Milan]], [[Italy]]; [[15 May]], [[1910]])
| pattern_so1 =
| Largest win = {{flagicon|Italy}} Italy 9 - 0 [[United States men's national soccer team|USA]] {{Flagicon|United States|1912}}<br/>([[Brentford]], [[England]]; [[2 August]], [[1948]])
| leftarm1 = 0000FF
| Largest loss = {{Flagicon|Hungary|1867}} [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]] 7 - 1 Italy {{flagicon|Italy|old}}<br/>([[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]; [[6 April]], [[1924]])
| World cup apps = 16
| body1 = 0000FF
| World cup first = 1934
| rightarm1 = 0000FF
| shorts1 = FFFFFF
| World cup best = Winners, [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]], [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]
| socks1 = 0000FF
| Regional name = [[UEFA European Football Championship|European Championship]]
| pattern_la2 = _ita24a
| Regional cup apps = 6
| pattern_b2 = _ita24a
| Regional cup first = [[1968 UEFA European Football Championship|1968]]
| pattern_ra2 = _ita24a
| Regional cup best = Winners, [[1968 UEFA European Football Championship|1968]]
| pattern_sh2 = _ita24a
| pattern_so2 =
| leftarm2 = FFFFFF
| body2 = FFFFFF
| rightarm2 = FFFFFF
| shorts2 = 0000FF
| socks2 = FFFFFF
| First game = {{Fb|ITA|1861}} 6–2 {{Fb-rt|France|1794}}<br />([[Milan]], [[Italy]]; 15 May 1910)
| Largest win = {{Fb|ITA}} 9–0 {{Fb-rt|United States|1912}}<br />([[Brentford]], [[England]]; 2 August 1948)
| Largest loss = {{Fb|Hungary|1920}} 7–1 {{Fb-rt|ITA|1861}}<br />([[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]; 6 April 1924)
| World cup apps = 18
| World cup first = 1934
| World cup best = '''Champions''' ([[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]], [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]])
| Regional name = [[UEFA European Championship|European Championship]]
| Regional cup apps = 11
| Regional cup first = [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]]
| Regional cup best = '''Champions''' ([[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]], [[UEFA Euro 2020|2020]])
| 2ndRegional name = [[UEFA Nations League|Nations League Finals]]
| 2ndRegional cup apps = 2
| 2ndRegional cup first = [[2021 UEFA Nations League Finals|2021]]
| 2ndRegional cup best = Third place ([[2021 UEFA Nations League Finals|2021]], [[2023 UEFA Nations League Finals|2023]])
| Confederations cup apps = 2
| Confederations cup first = [[2009 FIFA Confederations Cup|2009]]
| Confederations cup best = Third place ([[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup|2013]])
| website = {{URL|https://www.figc.it/|FIGC.it}} {{in lang|it|en}}
| 3rdRegional name = [[CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions]]
| 3rdRegional cup apps = 1
| 3rdRegional cup first = [[2022 Finalissima|2022]]
| 3rdRegional cup best = Runners-up ([[2022 Finalissima|2022]])
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalOlympic}}
{{MedalGold|[[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin]]|[[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|Team]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1928 Summer Olympics|1928 Amsterdam]]|[[Football at the 1928 Summer Olympics|Team]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIFA World Cup]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934 Italy]]|[[1934 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938 France]]|[[1938 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982 Spain]]|[[1982 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 Germany]]|[[2006 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970 Mexico]]|[[1970 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994 United States]]|[[1994 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990 Italy]]|[[1990 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[UEFA European Championship]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[UEFA Euro 1968|1968 Italy]]|[[UEFA Euro 1968 squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[UEFA Euro 2020|2020 Europe]]|[[UEFA Euro 2020 squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[UEFA Euro 2000|2000 Netherlands & Belgium]]|[[UEFA Euro 2000 squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[UEFA Euro 2012|2012 Poland & Ukraine]]|[[UEFA Euro 2012 squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2022 Finalissima|2022 England]]|Team}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[UEFA Nations League]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2021 UEFA Nations League Finals|2021 Italy]]|[[2021 UEFA Nations League Finals squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2023 UEFA Nations League Finals|2023 Netherlands]]|[[2023 UEFA Nations League Finals squads#Italy|Team]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIFA Confederations Cup]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup|2013 Brazil]]|[[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup squads#Italy|Team]]}}
}}
}}
{{MedalTop}}
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Football]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin]] | [[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|Team]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1928 Summer Olympics|1928 Amsterdam]] | [[Football at the 1928 Summer Olympics|Team]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Athens]] | [[Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics|Team]]}}
{{MedalBottom}}
The '''Italian national football team''' (''Nazionale italiana di Calcio'') is controlled by the [[Italian Football Federation|Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC)]] and represents [[Italy]] in international [[Football (soccer)|football]] competition. They are the current World Champions, having won the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]].


The '''Italy national football team''' ({{langx|it|Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia}}) has represented [[Italy]] in men's international [[Association football|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 (association football)|training ground]] and technical headquarters, [[Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano]], is located in [[Florence]].
Italy is among the top teams in international football and the second most successful national team in World Cup play, having won four [[FIFA World Cup|World Cups]] ([[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]], [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]), just one fewer than [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]]. To this tally they can add one [[UEFA European Football Championship|European championship]] ([[1968 UEFA European Football Championship|1968]]), two [[Central European International Cup]] and one [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic]] Gold Medal ([[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936]]).


Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of football and the [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]], having won four titles ([[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]], [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]), appearing in two other finals ([[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]], [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]]), and reaching also a third ([[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]]) and a fourth ([[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]]) place. Italy also won two [[UEFA European Championship|European Championships]] ([[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]], [[UEFA Euro 2020|2020]]), and appeared in two other finals of the tournament ([[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]], [[UEFA Euro 2012|2012]]). Italy's team also finished as runners-up in the [[CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions]] in [[2022 Finalissima|2022]], and in third place at both the [[FIFA Confederations Cup]] in [[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup|2013]] and at the [[UEFA Nations League]] in [[2021 UEFA Nations League Finals|2021]] and [[2023 UEFA Nations League Finals|2023]].
The traditional colour of the national team (as well as of all Italian teams and athletes except in motor sports) is light blue<ref>Light blue was the colour of the [[house of Savoy|royal house]] of the Kingdom of Italy. In its first two matches, the Italian national team wore white shirts with shorts from the club of each player; the azure shirts were introduced in the third match.</ref> (<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''azzurro''</span>, in [[Italian language|Italian]]), and therefore national team members are nicknamed <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">'''''Azzurri'''''</span>.

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 twelve years. Italy had also previously won two [[Central European International Cup]]s ([[1927–30 Central European International Cup|1927–30]], [[1933–35 Central European International Cup|1933–35]]). Between its first two World Cup victories, Italy won the [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic football tournament]] ([[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936]]). After the majority of the team was killed in a [[Superga air disaster|plane crash]] in 1949, Italy obtained poor results in the 1950s, even failing to qualify for the [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958 World Cup]]. Failure to qualify for the World Cup did not happen again until the consecutive editions of [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018]] and [[2022 FIFA World Cup|2022]]. However, 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–Italy football rivalry|Brazil]], [[France–Italy football rivalry|France]], [[Germany–Italy football rivalry|Germany]] and [[Italy–Spain football rivalry|Spain]]. In the [[FIFA World Rankings]], in force since August 1993, Italy has occupied 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==
==History==
{{Main|History of the Italy national football team}}
===Origins and first two World Cups (1910&ndash;1938)===
[[Image:1934 Football World Cup poster.jpg|120px|thumb|left|Poster of [[1934 World Cup]] edition.]]
The team's first match was held in [[Milan]] on [[15 May]] [[1910]]; Italy defeated [[France national football team|France]] by a score of 6-2.<ref>[http://www.figc.it/english/storia/storia_completa.htm#1913]. Some turmoil kept the players of [[Pro Vercelli]], the best team of the league, out of the game. At the end of the match, the players received as a prize some cigarette packets thrown by the 4,000 spectators.[http://www.figc.it/club_italia/html/mondiale_1910.htm] The Italian team (2-3-5): De Simoni; Varisco, Calì; Trerè, Fossati, Capello; Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, Boiocchi.[http://download.repubblica.it/pdf/motori/supplemento_ottobre06/04.pdf]</ref>


===Origins and first two World Cup titles in 1934 and 1938===
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 national football team|Uruguay]], a victory for 11-3 against [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]] secured third place in the competition.
[[File:Italy celebrating 1934.jpg|thumb|The squad celebrating its first [[FIFA World Cup]] in [[1934 FIFA World Cup|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]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesz/zwit-others-intres.html|title=Switzerland: Non-Official International Matches Representative Teams 1898-1992|publisher=RSSSF|language=English|accessdate=4 May 2021}}</ref> The team's first official match was held in [[Milan]] on 15 May 1910. Italy defeated [[France national football team|France]] by a score of 6–2, with Italy's first goal scored by [[Pietro Lana]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.magliarossonera.it/190910_album.html|title=Album della stagione|publisher=MagliaRossonera.it|language=it|access-date=15 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230141227/http://www.magliarossonera.it/190910_album.html|archive-date=30 December 2008|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=magliarossonera>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.magliarossonera.it/protagonisti/Gioc-Lana.html|title=Pietro Lana|publisher=MagliaRossonera.it|language=it|access-date=15 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228141647/http://www.magliarossonera.it/protagonisti/Gioc-Lana.html|archive-date=28 December 2008|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.figc.it/english/storia/storia_completa.htm#1913 |title=FIGC |publisher=Figc.it |access-date=21 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070423025820/http://www.figc.it/english/storia/storia_completa.htm#1913 |archive-date=23 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Italian team played with a (2–3–5) system and consisted of: De Simoni; Varisco, [[Francesco Calì|Calì]]; Trerè, Fossati, [[Domenico Capello|Capello]]; Debernardi, Rizzi, [[Aldo Cevenini|Cevenini I]], Lana, [[Arturo Boiocchi|Boiocchi]]. The first captain of the team was [[Francesco Calì]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://download.repubblica.it/pdf/motori/supplemento_ottobre06/04.pdf|title=Italia-Francia IL CALCIO|publisher=repubblica.it|date=17 October 2006|language=it|access-date=24 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061102200700/http://download.repubblica.it/pdf/motori/supplemento_ottobre06/04.pdf|archive-date=2 November 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>


The first success in an official tournament came with the bronze medal in [[Football at the 1928 Summer Olympics|1928 Summer Olympics]], held in [[Amsterdam]]. After losing the semi-final against [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]], an 11–3 victory against [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]] secured third place in the competition. In the [[1927–30 Central European International Cup|1927–30]] and [[1933–35 Central European International Cup]], Italy achieved first place out of five [[Central Europe]]an teams, topping the group with 11 points in both editions of the tournament.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesd/drgero1.html|title=1st International Cup|website=www.rsssf.com|access-date=11 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235827/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesd/drgero1.html|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablesd/drgero3.html|title=3rd International Cup|website=www.rsssf.com|access-date=11 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180314/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesd/drgero3.html|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy would also later win the gold medal at the [[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Summer Olympics]] with a 2–1 victory in extra time in the gold medal match over [[Austria national football team|Austria]] on 15 August 1936.<ref name="SR">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1936/FTB/ |title=Football at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games |work=Sports Reference |access-date=7 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011234044/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1936/FTB/ |archive-date=11 October 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
After declining to participate in the first World Cup ([[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]], in Uruguay), the Italian national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]] and 1938, under the lead of coach [[Vittorio Pozzo]] and thanks to the genius of [[Giuseppe Meazza]], one of the best Italian players ever.


After declining to participate in the inaugural World Cup ([[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]], in Uruguay) the Italy national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]] and [[1938 FIFA World Cup|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.<ref name="Giuseppe Meazza La favola di Peppin il folbèr">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/meazza.html|title=Giuseppe Meazza La favola di Peppin il folbèr|date=30 January 2016|publisher=Storie di Calcio|language=it|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311115720/http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/meazza.html|archive-date=11 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The inimitable Giuseppe Meazza">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=174761/|title=The inimitable Giuseppe Meazza|publisher=FIFA.com|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613021348/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=174761/|archive-date=13 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Italy hosted the 1934 World Cup, and played their first ever World Cup match in a 7–1 win over the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] in [[Rome]]. Italy defeated [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]] 2–1 in [[Overtime (sports)|extra time]] in the final in Rome, with goals by [[Raimundo Orsi]] and [[Angelo Schiavio]] to achieve their first World Cup title. They achieved their second title in 1938 in a 4–2 defeat of [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]], with two goals by [[Gino Colaussi]] and two goals by [[Silvio Piola]] in the World Cup that followed. It is rumored that before the 1938 finals [[fascist]] Italian Prime Minister [[Benito Mussolini]] 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'."<ref>Martin, Simon (1 April 2014): [https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/apr/01/world-cup-moments-1938-italy-benito-mussolini "World Cup: 25 stunning moments ... No8: Mussolini's blackshirts' 1938 win".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624010522/https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/apr/01/world-cup-moments-1938-italy-benito-mussolini |date=24 June 2018 }} theguardian.com. Läst 22 April 2016.</ref>
In the [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934 World Cup]], the host <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''Azzurri''</span> defeated [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]] 2&ndash;1 in [[Rome]], with goals by [[Raimundo Orsi]] and [[Angelo Schiavio]].


===Reconstruction in the 1950s and 1960s===
Italy won the Gold medal in the [[1936 Summer Olympics]], held in [[Berlin]], thanks to a victory in the final match against [[Austria national football team|Austria]].
[[File:Italy Team - Rome, 1965.jpg|thumb|The Italy national team in 1965|left]]
In 1949, 10 of the 11 players in the team's initial line-up were killed in a [[Superga air disaster|plane crash]] that affected [[Torino F.C.|Torino]], winners of the previous five [[Serie A]] titles. Italy did not advance further than the first round of the [[1950 FIFA World Cup|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.<ref name="lisi_47">Lisi (2007), p. 47</ref>


In the World Cup finals of [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]] and [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]], Italy failed to progress past the first round,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stokkermans |first1=Karel |last2=Jarreta |first2=Sergio Henrique |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/62f.html |title=World Cup 1962 (Chile, May 30 – June 17) |website=RSSSF.com |publisher=[[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation]] |date=22 October 1999 |access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Stokkermans |first1=Karel |last2=Jarreta |first2=Sergio Henrique |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/54f.html |title=World Cup 1954 (Switzerland, June 16 – July 4) |website=RSSSF.com |publisher=[[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation]] |date=22 October 1999 |access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> and did not qualify for the [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958 World Cup]] due to a 2–1 defeat to [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]] in the last match of the [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|qualifying round]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/down-memory-lane-battle-of-belfast-was-far-from-a-golden-moment/28070086.html |title=Down Memory Lane: Battle of Belfast was far from a golden moment - International, Football |work=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |access-date=2012-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222230627/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/down-memory-lane-battle-of-belfast-was-far-from-a-golden-moment-28070086.html |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=live |last=Brodie |first=Malcolm |date=5 December 2007}}</ref> Italy did not take part in the first edition of the [[UEFA European Football Championship|European Championship]] in [[1960 European Nations' Cup|1960]] (then known as the European Nations Cup),<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murray |first1=Scott |title=The Joy of Six: European Championship qualifiers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/sep/02/joy-of-six-european-championship-qualifiers |website=The Guardian |date=2 September 2011 |access-date=1 December 2023 |quote=At a Uefa congress in 1957, a motion to set up a European championship was finally put to the floor. Predictably, the British associations acted like a petulant child, just as it had done three decades earlier with the World Cup. Fearing such a tournament would interfere with the Home Internationals, it abstained, though this time it was by no means the only offender: seven other countries voted against, including West Germany, Italy and Holland.}}</ref> and was knocked out by the [[Soviet Union national football team|Soviet Union]] in the first round of the [[1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stokkermans |first1=Karel |last2=Jarreta |first2=Sergio Henrique |title=European Championship 1964 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/64e.html |website=RSSSF.com |publisher=[[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation]] |date=31 January 2007}}</ref>
Italy's predominance on international football in the 1930s was confirmed by the victory in [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938 World Cup]]. The Italian team beat [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]] 4&ndash;2 in [[Paris]], with two goals by [[Silvio Piola]] (the all-time top scorer in Italian football) and two by [[Gino Colaussi]].


Their participation in the [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966 World Cup]] was ended by a 0–1 defeat at the hands of [[North Korea national football team|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 [[Goliath|David who killed Goliath]]. Upon Italy's return home, furious fans threw fruit and rotten tomatoes at their transport bus at the airport.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/1966-world-cup-football-comes-home-1.794224|title=1966 World Cup: Football comes home|date=26 November 2009|publisher=cbc.ca|access-date=1 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305225935/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/1966-world-cup-football-comes-home-1.794224|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/cg/por_prk_1966.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516064056/http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/cg/por_prk_1966.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 May 2006|title=1966: Portugal - Korea DPR|date=16 May 2006|publisher=Yahoo }}</ref>
===Post-World War II (1946&ndash;1966)===
After [[World War II]], the Italian national team did not perform at its pre-war levels.


===European champions and World Cup runners-up (1968–1974)===
The tragic loss in 1949 of the players of [[Torino F.C.|Torino]] (the winners of the previous four [[Serie A]] titles) in the [[Superga air disaster]] saw the loss of ten out of the eleven constituting the initial line-up for the national team. The following year, Italy did not advance further than the first round of the [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950 World Cup]], partly due to the long and physically devastating boat trip to [[Brazil]].
[[File:Italia, Euro '68, Giacinto Facchetti.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Captain [[Giacinto Facchetti]] celebrates Italy's [[UEFA Euro 1968]] victory.]]
In 1968, Italy hosted the [[UEFA Euro 1968|European Championship]] and won the tournament in its first participation, beating [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]] in Rome and winning their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup. The [[UEFA Euro 1968 Final|final]] ended in a 1–1 draw after extra time, and the rules of the time required the match to be replayed a few days later. This would be the only time the final of the European Championship or World Cup was replayed.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/17899534|title=Euro 1968: Alan Mullery's moment of madness|publisher=bbc.com|author=Sam Sheringham|date=12 May 2012|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605043117/http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/17899534|archive-date=5 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On 10 June 1968, Italy won the replay 2–0 (with goals from [[Gigi Riva]] and [[Pietro Anastasi]]) to take the trophy.


In the [[1970 FIFA World Cup|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 "[[Italy v West Germany (1970 FIFA World Cup)|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/germany/9361429/Euro-2012-five-classic-tournament-matches-between-Germany-and-Italy-including-the-Game-of-the-Century.html|title=Euro 2012: five classic tournament matches between Germany and Italy including the 'Game of the Century'|publisher=telegraph.co.uk|author=Matt Wagg|date=28 June 2012|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601193441/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/germany/9361429/Euro-2012-five-classic-tournament-matches-between-Germany-and-Italy-including-the-Game-of-the-Century.html|archive-date=1 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> They were later defeated by [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] in the [[1970 FIFA World Cup Final|final]] 4–1.
In the World Cup finals of [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]] and the [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]] that followed, Italy again failed to progress past the first round, and did not even qualify for the [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958 World Cup]].
During the early 1960s, although Italian football clubs like [[A.C. Milan|AC Milan]] and [[Internazionale Milano F.C.|Internazionale]] ruled the international scene, the National team was unable to replicate these results. Italy did not take part in the first edition of the European Championship in [[1960 UEFA European Football Championship|1960]] (then known as the European Nations Cup), and was knocked out by the [[USSR national football team|USSR]] in the round of 16 (second round) of the [[1964 UEFA European Football Championship|1964 European Championship]].


After losing to [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] in the quarter-finals to qualify for the [[UEFA Euro 1972|1972 European Championship]], this generation's cycle ended at the [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974 World Cup]], where the team was eliminated in the group stage after a 2–1 loss against [[Poland national football team|Poland]] in the last match of the group.
Their participation in the [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966 World Cup]] is always remembered for their 0&ndash;1 defeat at the hands of [[North Korean national football team|North Korea]]. Despite being the tournament favourites, the <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''Azzurri''</span>, whose 1966 squad was rich with talent including [[Gianni Rivera|Rivera]] and [[Giacomo Bulgarelli|Bulgarelli]], were eliminated in the first round by the semi-professional North Koreans and bitterly condemned upon their return home, while North Korean scorer [[Pak Doo-Ik]] was celebrated as the [[David]] who killed [[Goliath]].[http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/cg/por_prk_1966.html].


===European champions and World Cup runners-up (1968&ndash;1976)===
===Third World Cup title generation (1978–1986)===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Italia v Francia Mondiale 1978.jpg|thumb|Italy's line up, before the match against [[France national football team|France]] in a group stage game at the [[1978 FIFA World Cup]] at [[Estadio José María Minella]] ([[Mar del Plata]], [[Argentina]]&nbsp;– 2 June 1978)|left]] -->
In 1968, the <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''Azzurri''</span> won their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup, defeating [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]] in Rome for the [[1968 UEFA European Football Championship|European Championship]] title. The match holds the distinction of being the only major football tournament final to go to a replay. After extra time it ended in a 1-1 draw, and in the days before penalty shootouts, the rules required the match to be re-played a few days later. Italy won the replay 2-0 (with goals from [[Luigi Riva|Riva]] and [[Pietro Anastasi|Anastasi]]) to lift the trophy.


Under the initial guide of [[Fulvio Bernardini]] and later that of head coach [[Enzo Bearzot]], a new generation of Italian players came to the international stage in the second half of the 1970s. At the [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978 World Cup]], Italy was the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], and the ''Azzurri'' made it to the third-place final, where they were defeated by Brazil 2–1. In the second round group stage match against the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]], which prevented Italy from reaching the final, Italian goalkeeper [[Dino Zoff]] was beaten by a long-distance shot from [[Arie Haan]], and Zoff was criticized for the defeat.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=44786/quotes.html|title=Classic Football: Dino Zoff&nbsp;– I was there|publisher=FIFA Official Site|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102161058/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=44786/quotes.html|archive-date=2 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Italy hosted the [[UEFA Euro 1980|1980 European Championship]], the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four,<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=1623888.html#1980+glance|title=1980 at a glance|publisher=uefa.com|date=1 July 2011|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104023505/http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=1623888.html#1980+glance|archive-date=4 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> automatically qualifying for the finals as hosts. After two draws with [[Spain men's national football team|Spain]] and Belgium and a narrow 1–0 win over [[England national football team|England]], Italy were beaten by Czechoslovakia in the third-place match on penalties 9–8 after [[Fulvio Collovati]] missed his kick.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=1980/matches/round=197/match=3584/index.html|title=Czechs beat Italy to third after shoot-out drama|publisher=UEFA.com|date=4 October 2003|access-date=20 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0254-0d7bc27492be-c7e54019355a-1000--did-you-know-1980-4/ |title=Did you know? 1980 - 4 UEFA EURO |publisher=UEFA.com |date=15 January 2008 |access-date=29 November 2023 }}</ref>
Two years later, the defending European Champions reached the final of the [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970 World Cup]], held in Mexico. First, Italy won its first round group scoring only one goal, after a series of dull, uninspired games against [[Sweden national football team|Sweden]], [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]], and [[Israel national football team|Israel]]. The quarter-finals saw a transformed Italy prevail 4-1 over host [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] after trailing 0-1. Then, the semi-final between Italy and [[West Germany national football team|West Germany]] went into the legend as one of the greatest games ever. This match, won by 4-3 after extra time, is known as the [[Game of the Century (football)|Game of the Century]], and a marker at the [[Estadio Azteca]] in Mexico City still commemorates it. Italy took a 1-0 lead through [[Roberto Boninsegna|Boninsegna]] on 8', then Germany pressed to equalize for the rest of the game, until the very end when sweeper [[Karl-Heinz Schnellinger|Schnellinger]], then with Italy's [[A.C. Milan|AC Milan]] club, scored in [[injury time]]. In extra time, [[Gerd Müller|Müller]] brought Germany the lead on 94' before Italian defender [[Tarcisio Burgnich|Burgnich]] leveled the score with a rare international goal. On 104', [[Luigi Riva|Riva]] made it 3-2, only for Müller to equalize six minutes later. The TV cameras were still replaying this goal when [[Gianni Rivera|Rivera]] finely volleyed a cross by Boninsegna for the winning goal in the 111'. For the very first time, people gathered in the streets of Italy in the late night to cheer for the victory, and after many years this game still remains the most noted in Italian football history.


[[File:Italia82.JPG|thumb|Italy's starting line-up, before the match against [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] in a group stage game at the [[1982 FIFA World Cup]]]]
In the two games against Mexico and West Germany, coach [[Ferruccio Valcareggi]] had Rivera replace [[Alessandro Mazzola|Mazzola]] in a programmed second half substitution, that was then called <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''staffetta''</span> (meaning relay as in [[athletics (track and field)|athletics]]). This tactic was not repeated in the final, where Italy was defeated by [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]]. During the first half, Boninsegna answered [[Pelé]]'s 18' goal. In the second half, Brazil's firepower was simply too much for a tired Italian side, and the final 4-1 result consecrated Brazil as ''tri-campeão'' (three-time champion).
[[File:Sandro Pertini Spagna 1982.jpg|thumb|One of the widely remembered pictures of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, Italian President [[Sandro Pertini]] playing ''[[Scopa|scopone]]'' with [[Dino Zoff]], [[Franco Causio]] and coach Bearzot.|left]]


After a [[Totonero 1980|scandal]] in [[Serie A]], where some National team players such as [[Paolo Rossi]]<ref>{{cite news|access-date=21 May 2010 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/5215260.stm |author=Dan Warren |work=[[BBC News]] |title=The worst scandal of them all |date=25 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323102307/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/5215260.stm |archive-date=23 March 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> were prosecuted and suspended for match fixing and illegal betting, the ''Azzurri'' qualified for the second round of the [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982 World Cup]] after three uninspiring draws against [[Poland national football team|Poland]], [[Peru national football team|Peru]], and [[Cameroon national football team|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 national football team|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 [[Paulo Roberto Falcão|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 [[Brazil v Italy (1982 FIFA World Cup)|games]] in World Cup history.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||last1=Duarte|first1=Fernando|title=Brazil lost that Italy game in 1982 but won a place in history&nbsp;– Falcão|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/30/brazil-falcao-1982-world-cup-italy|website=The Guardian|access-date=27 April 2016|date=30 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502185132/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/30/brazil-falcao-1982-world-cup-italy|archive-date=2 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||last1=Wilson|first1=Jonathan|title=Italy 3–2 Brazil, 1982: the day naivety, not football itself, died|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/jul/25/italy-brazil-1982|website=The Guardian|access-date=27 April 2016|date=25 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044108/http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2012/jul/25/italy-brazil-1982|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||last1=Lewis|first1=Tim|title=1982: Why Brazil V Italy Was One Of Football's Greatest Ever Matches|url=http://www.esquire.co.uk/culture/sport/6396/1982-why-brazil-v-italy-was-one-of-footballs-greatest-ever-matches/|website=Esquire|access-date=27 April 2016|date=11 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927181154/http://www.esquire.co.uk/culture/sport/6396/1982-why-brazil-v-italy-was-one-of-footballs-greatest-ever-matches/|archive-date=27 September 2015}}</ref> Italy then progressed to the semi-final where they defeated Poland with two goals from Rossi.
This generation of great Italian players, like Riva, Rivera, Mazzola and [[Giacinto Facchetti|Facchetti]], didn't keep up the same level during the next [[1972 UEFA European Football Championship|1972 European Championship]] where they didn't qualify to the play-offs. In [[1973]] they obtained prestigious victories in friendly matches, beating Brazil and twice England. In particular, Italy stormed [[Wembley Stadium (1924)|Wembley Stadium]], winning 1-0 with a goal by [[Fabio Capello]]. Despite these encouraging premises, coach Valcareggi was to resign after the elimination of the Italian team in the first round of the [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974 World Cup]]. Italy was as well eliminated at an early stage in [[1976 UEFA European Football Championship|1976 European Championship]].


In the [[1982 FIFA World Cup Final|final]] on 11 July 1982, Italy met West Germany in [[Madrid]]. 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 [[Football tactics and skills|''contropiede'']] counterattacks to make it 3–0. [[Paul Breitner]] scored home West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes from the end.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19820712&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |title=Sparkling Italy spring ultimate upset |date=12 July 1982 |work=Glasgow Herald |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429003926/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19820712&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |archive-date=29 April 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Tardelli's screaming celebration after his goal was one of the defining images of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/marco_tardelli.html|title=Marco Tardelli|date=8 February 2016|publisher=Storie di Calcio|language=it|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304132142/http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/marco_tardelli.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Paolo Rossi won the [[FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Boot|Golden Boot]] with six goals as well as the [[FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Ball|Golden Ball Award]] for the best player of the tournament,<ref name="storiedicalcio.altervista.org">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/paolo_rossi_biografia.html|title=Paolo Rossi: La solitudine del centravanti|publisher=Storie di Calcio|language=it|access-date=4 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924123048/http://www.storiedicalcio.altervista.org/paolo_rossi_biografia.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper [[Dino Zoff]] became the oldest player to win the World Cup.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/hof/zoff/|title=World Cup Hall of Fame: Dino Zoff|newspaper=[[Sports Illustrated]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050912055524/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/2002/world_cup/hof/zoff/|archive-date=12 September 2005}}</ref>
===World Cup winners for the third time (1978&ndash;1982)===
[[1978 FIFA World Cup]], held in Argentina, saw a new generation of Italian players, the most famous being [[Paolo Rossi]], coming to the international stage. Italy played very well in the first round, being the only team in the tournament to beat the latter World Champion and host team [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]]. Second round games against [[Germany national football team|West Germany]], [[Austria national football team|Austria]] and [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] led Italy to the third place final, where it was defeated by [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] 2-1. As in the match against the Netherlands, Italian goalkeeper [[Dino Zoff]] was beaten by a long-distance shot and thus blamed as the main responsible of the defeat. Italy then organized the [[1980 UEFA European Football Championship]], the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four, and with the host team automatically qualified for the finals. Italy was beaten by [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]] in the third place match after penalties.


Subsequently, Italy failed to qualify for the [[UEFA Euro 1984|1984 European Championship]],<ref name="euro1984">{{cite book|title=Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio 1984|publisher=[[Panini Group]]|year=1983|page=393|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1984/05/23/italia-germania-che-noia-mundial.html|title=Italia-Germania Che noia mundial!|author=Gianni Brera|newspaper=[[la Repubblica]]|date=23 May 1984|page=37|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805181818/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1984/05/23/italia-germania-che-noia-mundial.html|archive-date=5 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and then entered as reigning champions in the [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986 World Cup]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1985/09/26/italia-persa.html|title=L' Italia s' è persa|author=Mario Sconcerti|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=26 September 1985|page=27|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805182718/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1985/09/26/italia-persa.html|archive-date=5 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1985/11/17/ma-per-italia-altri-cento-di.html|title=Ma per l' Italia altri cento di questi giorni...|author=Gianni Brera|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=17 November 1985|page=25|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803054617/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1985/11/17/ma-per-italia-altri-cento-di.html|archive-date=3 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1986/02/06/ora-beckenbauer-pensa-alla-grande.html|title=E ora Beckenbauer pensa alla grande|author=Fabrizio Bocca|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=6 February 1986|page=18|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016225941/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1986/02/06/ora-beckenbauer-pensa-alla-grande.html|archive-date=16 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> but were eliminated by reigning European Champions, France, in the round of 16.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1986/06/18/povero-bearzot.html|title=Povero Bearzot|author=Mario Sconcerti|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=18 June 1986|page=1|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807192637/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1986/06/18/povero-bearzot.html|archive-date=7 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
After a clamorous scandal in the [[Serie A]], where also few National Team players like Paolo Rossi were prosecuted and suspended for fixed games and illegal bets, the <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''Azzurri''</span> arrived to the [[1982 FIFA World Cup]] among general scepticism and discomfort. Italy qualified to the second round after a series of uninspiring matches against [[Poland national football team|Poland]], [[Peru national football team|Peru]] and [[Cameroon national football team|Cameroon]]. Being violently criticized, the Italian team decided a press black-out from then on, with only coach [[Enzo Bearzot]] and captain [[Dino Zoff]] appointed to speak with the press.


===Vicini years and World Cup runners-up with Sacchi (1986–1994)===
Italy's strength was finally shown in the second round group, a true Group of Death with [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] and [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]]. In the opener, Italy prevailed 2-1 over [[Diego Maradona]]'s side after an ill-tempered, obscure battle in which Italy's defenders and midfielders proved their mastery in the rougher side of the game. The winning goals were scored by [[Marco Tardelli]] and [[Antonio Cabrini]]. After Brazil defeated Argentina 3-1, Italy was obliged to win to pass to semifinals. Twice Italy went in the lead on Paolo Rossi goals, and twice Brazil came back. With the 2-2 scored by [[Paulo Roberto Falcão]], Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but on 74' Rossi scored the winning goal sending Italy to the semifinals in one of the all-time great games of World Cup history[http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/cg/ita_bra_1982.html]. In the wake of its brilliant second round performance, Italy easily dispatched Poland in the first semi-final through two goals scored by Rossi.
In 1986, [[Azeglio Vicini]] was appointed as new head coach, replacing Bearzot.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1986/08/03/alla-ricerca-dell-italia-perduta.html|title=Alla ricerca dell' Italia perduta|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=3 August 1986|page=26|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728120120/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1986/08/03/alla-ricerca-dell-italia-perduta.html|archive-date=28 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> He granted a central role to players such as [[Walter Zenga]] and [[Gianluca Vialli]], and conceded a chance to young players coming from the U21 team;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1987/06/12/quante-novita-nell-anno-di-vicini.html|title=Quante novità nell'anno di Vicini|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=12 June 1987|page=45|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728160602/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1987/06/12/quante-novita-nell-anno-di-vicini.html|archive-date=28 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Vialli scored goals that gave Italy a [[UEFA Euro 1988|1988 European Championship]] pass.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1987/11/15/viva-vialli.html|title=Viva Vialli|author=Gianni Mura|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=15 November 1987|page=22|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728155343/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1987/11/15/viva-vialli.html|archive-date=28 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> He was also shown like Altobelli's possibly successor, having his same goal attitude.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1988/02/21/abbracciati-vialli.html|title=Abbracciati a Vialli|author=Gianni Brera|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=21 February 1988|page=21|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708204355/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1988/02/21/abbracciati-vialli.html|archive-date=8 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Both forwards stroke the target in Germany, where Soviet Union defeated the ''Azzurri'' in semi-finals.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1988/06/25/questa-urss-non-perfetta.html|title=Questa URSS non è perfetta|author=Gianni Brera|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=25 June 1988|page=23|language=it|access-date=29 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728155104/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1988/06/25/questa-urss-non-perfetta.html|archive-date=28 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>


[[File:Roberto Baggio - Italia '90.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.81|[[Roberto Baggio]] in 1990]]
[[Image:Tardelli1982.jpg|thumb|280px|[[Marco Tardelli|Tardelli]]'s howl after scoring against [[Germany national football team|West Germany]] in [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982 World Cup]] final.]]
Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in [[1990 FIFA World Cup|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 [[SSC Napoli|Napoli]], made comments prior to the game pertaining to the North–South inequality in Italy and the ''[[Unification of Italy|Risorgimento]]'', asking Neapolitans to root for Argentina in the game.<ref>{{cite book|last=Maradona|first=Diego|title=El Diego, pg. 165|year=2004}}</ref> 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.


After failing to qualify for the [[UEFA Euro 1992|1992 European Championship]], Vicini was replaced by former [[AC Milan]] coach [[Arrigo Sacchi]], who brought a new style of play. In November 1993, FIFA ranked Italy first in the for the first time since the [[FIFA World Rankings|ranking system]] was introduced in December 1992.<ref name=first/>
In the final match, Italy met their traditional opponent [[Germany national football team|West Germany]], who were coming from a penalty shoot-out against France. The first half ended without goals, after [[Antonio Cabrini|Cabrini]] missed a penalty for Italy. In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal, and while the Germans were trying to balance the result, [[Marco Tardelli]] and [[Alessandro Altobelli]] scored 3-0, before [[Paul Breitner]] could score West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes from end.


At the [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994 World Cup]] in the United States, Italy lost the opening match against [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Ireland]] 0–1 at [[Giants Stadium]] in [[New York City]]. After a 1–0 win against [[Norway national football team|Norway]] in New York and a 1–1 draw with [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] at the [[RFK Stadium]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], Italy advanced from [[1994 FIFA World Cup#Group E|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 national football team|Nigeria]], but Baggio rescued Italy with an equaliser in the 88th minute and a penalty in extra time to take the win.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=84/results/matches/match=3091/report.html|title=Match Report&nbsp;– 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Nigeria&nbsp;– Italy|publisher=FIFA.com|access-date=18 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111216233834/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition%3D84/results/matches/match%3D3091/report.html|archive-date=16 December 2011}}</ref> 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 national football team|Bulgaria]] in their semi-final match in New York for another 2–1 win.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=84/results/matches/match=3097/report.html|title=Match Report&nbsp;– 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Italy&nbsp;– Spain|publisher=FIFA.com|access-date=18 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219234329/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition%3D84/results/matches/match%3D3097/report.html|archive-date=19 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=84/results/matches/match=3100/report.html|title=Match Report&nbsp;– 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Bulgaria&nbsp;– Italy|publisher=FIFA.com|access-date=18 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219230556/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition%3D84/results/matches/match%3D3100/report.html|archive-date=19 December 2011}}</ref> In the [[1994 FIFA World Cup Final|final]], which took place in [[Los Angeles]]'s [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Rose Bowl]] stadium 2,700 miles (4,320&nbsp;km) and [[Time in the United States|three time zones]] away from the [[Northeastern 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 (football)|penalty shootout]], the first time a World Cup final was settled in a penalty shootout.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/history/newsid_1632000/1632224.stm|title=USA 94|publisher=news.bbc.co.uk|date=17 April 2002|access-date=28 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103205635/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/history/newsid_1632000/1632224.stm|archive-date=3 January 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3–2 after Baggio, who had been playing with the aid of a pain-killer injection<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/players-coaches/people=174363/profile.html|title=Divine by moniker, divine by magic|publisher=fifa.com|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514025207/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/players-coaches/people=174363/profile.html|archive-date=14 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and a heavily bandaged hamstring,<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1994/luglio/15/resta_filo_Baggio_co_0_940715257.shtml|title=ci resta un filo di Baggio|publisher=Il Corriere della Sera|language=it|date=15 July 1994|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118171712/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1994/luglio/15/resta_filo_Baggio_co_0_940715257.shtml|archive-date=18 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/profile-has-so-much-ever-hung-on-a-hamstring-roberto-baggio-italys-buddhist-footballing-hero-1414123.html|title=Has so much ever hung on a hamstring?&nbsp;– Roberto Baggio, Italy's Footballing Hero|location=London|work=The Independent|date=16 July 1994|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729090340/http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/profile-has-so-much-ever-hung-on-a-hamstring-roberto-baggio-italys-buddhist-footballing-hero-1414123.html|archive-date=29 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1994/luglio/18/Baggio_sbaglia_tiro_della_sua_co_0_9407181835.shtml|title=e Baggio sbaglia il tiro della sua vita|publisher=Il Corriere della Sera|language=it|date=18 July 1994|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215114950/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1994/luglio/18/Baggio_sbaglia_tiro_della_sua_co_0_9407181835.shtml|archive-date=15 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2006/ottobre/31/Baggio_McEnroe_Schumi_Come_sbaglia_co_9_061031079.shtml|title=Da Baggio a McEnroe e Schumi Come si sbaglia un punto decisivo|publisher=Il Corriere della Sera|language=it|date=31 October 2006|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031000328/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2006/ottobre/31/Baggio_McEnroe_Schumi_Come_sbaglia_co_9_061031079.shtml|archive-date=31 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
Tardelli's howl after his goal in the final is still recorded as the symbol of 1982 World Cup victory. Paolo Rossi won the [[FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Shoes|Golden Boot]] with six goals, and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper [[Dino Zoff]] became the oldest-ever player to win the World Cup.


===World Cup and European Championship runners-up (1984–2004)===
===Euro 2000 runners-up (1996–2000)===
The vice World champions, still led by Sacchi, qualified for [[UEFA Euro 1996|Euro 1996]] in England, but did not progress beyond the group stage. Having defeated Russia 2–1 and losing by the same score against the [[Czech Republic national football team|Czech Republic]], Italy required a victory in their final group match against Germany to progress to the quarter-finals. However, [[Gianfranco Zola]] failed to convert a decisive penalty in a 0–0 draw against the Germans, who eventually won the tournament.<ref name="UEFA.com">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=1996/matches/round=227/match=52511/postmatch/report/index.html|title=Italy pay penalty for Germany stalemate|publisher=UEFA.com|date=6 October 2003|access-date=7 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709205119/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=1996/matches/round=227/match=52511/postmatch/report/index.html|archive-date=9 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
For twenty-four years following the 1982 triumph, the <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''Azzurri''</span> figured prominently on the world stage but did not win another tournament. Italy failed to qualify for the [[1984 UEFA European Football Championship|1984 European Championship]] and were knocked out in the Round of 16 of the [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986 World Cup]] by [[France national football team|France]]. 1988 saw them reach the semi-finals of the [[1988 UEFA European Football Championship|European Championship]], where they were defeated 2-0 by [[USSR national football team|USSR]].


Relegated to second place behind England in the [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2|qualification campaign]] for the [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998 World Cup]], Italy booked a place at the final tournament after defeating Russia in a [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA play-off)|play-off]], with [[Pierluigi Casiraghi]] scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 aggregate victory on 15 November 1997.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41917134|title=World Cup 2018: Italy and the nightmare of their play-off against Sweden|publisher=bbc.com|date=10 November 2017|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507193544/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41917134|archive-date=7 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> After finishing first in their [[1998 FIFA World Cup Group B|group]] and overcoming [[Norway national football team|Norway]] in the second round, Italy faced a penalty shoot-out in the [[1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#Italy vs France|quarterfinals]], for the third World Cup in a row.<ref>{{cite news |last=Clarey |first=Christopher |date=4 July 1998 |title=WORLD CUP '98: A Roar Is Heard All Over France, As Italy Groans; Last Shootout Kick Hits Crossbar |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/04/sports/world-cup-98-roar-heard-all-over-france-italy-groans-last-shootout-kick-hits.html |work=The New York Times |location= |access-date=8 October 2021 |archive-date=31 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131100356/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/04/sports/world-cup-98-roar-heard-all-over-france-italy-groans-last-shootout-kick-hits.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Italian side, where [[Alessandro Del Piero]] and Baggio renewed the controversial ''staffetta'' ({{literally|relay}}) between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970, held the eventual World Champions and host team, [[France national football team|France]], to a 0–0 draw after extra time, but lost 4–3 in the shoot-out. With two goals scored in this tournament, Baggio remains the only Italian player to have scored in three different [[FIFA World Cup]] editions.<ref name="Mondial">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://it.eurosport.yahoo.com/10052010/45/top-10-mondiali-pele-baggio-i-10-grandi.html|title=10 Leggende Mondiali|trans-title=10 World Cup Legends|publisher=Eurosport|language=it|access-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216233952/http://it.eurosport.yahoo.com/10052010/45/top-10-mondiali-pele-baggio-i-10-grandi.html|archive-date=16 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]]. The Italian attack featured forwards [[Salvatore Schillaci]] and a young [[Roberto Baggio]]. Despite being favourites[http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-worldhistory19821990dc&prov=reuters&type=lgns] to win and not conceding a goal during five matches, Italy was knocked-out in the semi-final by defending World Champion [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], losing 4-3 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw after extra time; [[Aldo Serena]] missed the final penalty kick (with [[Roberto Donadoni]] having earlier had his penalty saved). Italy went on to defeat [[England national football team|England]] 2-1 in the third place match. Italy then failed to qualify for the [[1992 UEFA European Football Championship|1992 European Championship]].


[[File:Italy - France, 2 July 2000.jpg|thumb|upright=1.36|left|Italy (right) line-up ahead of the [[UEFA Euro 2000 Final]] against France]] Two years later, at the [[UEFA Euro 2000|Euro 2000]], with four consecutive victories the team led by former captain [[Dino Zoff]] made it all the way to the semifinals, facing another penalty shoot-out but emerging victorious over the co-hosts, the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=29 June 2000 |title=Italy through on penalties |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/euro2000/812047.stm |work=BBC Sport |location= |access-date=8 October 2021 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306110919/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/euro2000/812047.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Italian goalkeeper [[Francesco Toldo]] saved one penalty during the match and two in the shootout, while striker [[Francesco Totti]] scored his penalty with a ''cucchiaio'' ({{literally|spoon}}) chip.<ref>{{cite news |last=Copper |first=Max |date=29 January 2020 |title=Francesco Totti: The Italian Magician Who Lit Up Euro 2000 |url=https://www.90min.com/posts/6546881-francesco-totti-the-italian-magician-who-lit-up-euro-2000 |work=90 Min |location= |access-date=8 October 2021 |archive-date=9 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009041858/https://www.90min.com/posts/6546881-francesco-totti-the-italian-magician-who-lit-up-euro-2000 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/euro2000/816194.stm |title=France 2 Italy 1 |date=2 July 2000 |work=[[BBC Sport]] |access-date=19 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726060204/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/euro2000/816194.stm |archive-date=26 July 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> After the defeat, coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticized by AC Milan club president and politician [[Silvio Berlusconi]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.espnfc.com/euro2000/news/20000704itazoff.html|title=Zoff resigned after attack from Berlusconi|publisher=espnfc.com|author=Ivan Speck|date=4 July 2000|access-date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601005056/http://www.espnfc.com/euro2000/news/20000704itazoff.html|archive-date=1 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
In the [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994 World Cup]], Italy started very faintly but reached the final. They lost the opening match against [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Ireland]] 0-1, this being the only match Italy would lose (not counting games lost after shootout) over the span of three World Cup finals from 1990 to 1998, but advanced from [[1994 FIFA World Cup#Group E|Group E]] based on goals scored among the four teams tied on points. In the Round of 16, Italy was down 0-1 late against [[Nigeria national football team|Nigeria]], but Roberto Baggio equalized in the 88th minute and scored the penalty goal in extra time.<ref>

{{cite web
===Trapattoni years (2000–2004)===
|url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/enwiki/w/pwc/mr_3091.html
Giovanni Trapattoni took charge of the team in July 2000 following the resignation of Dino Zoff.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Trapattoni set to lead Italy |url=http://www.espn.com/soccer/news/2000/0706/621460.html |work=ESPN |location= |date=6 July 2000 |access-date=9 May 2021 |archive-date=9 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509224004/http://www.espn.com/soccer/news/2000/0706/621460.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Playing in [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8|Group 8]] of the [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]] process, Italy finished undefeated after facing [[Romania national football team|Romania]], [[Georgia national football team|Georgia]], [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]] and [[Lithuania national football team|Lithuania]]. In the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|final tournament]], a 2–0 victory against [[Ecuador national football team|Ecuador]] with a double from [[Christian Vieri]] was followed by a series of controversial matches. During the match against [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], English referee [[Graham Poll]] incorrectly disallowed two regular goals resulting in a 2–1 defeat to Italy.<ref>{{cite news |last=Glendenning |first=Barry |date=8 June 2002 |title=Italy 1 - 2 Croatia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/jun/08/minutebyminute.worldcupfootball2002 |work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=9 May 2021 |archive-date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726022135/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/jun/08/minutebyminute.worldcupfootball2002 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Mexico Ties 1-1 with Italy, Both into World Cup Last 16 |url=http://en.people.cn/200206/13/eng20020613_97812.shtml |work=People's Daily |location= |date=13 June 2002 |access-date=9 May 2021 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510144005/http://en.people.cn/200206/13/eng20020613_97812.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
|title=Match Report - 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Nigeria - Italy

|publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
Co-host country [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]] eliminated Italy in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup knockout stage#South Korea vs Italy|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.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://worldcup.espnsoccernet.com/story?id=217887&lang=us |title=Angry Italy blame 'conspiracy' |access-date=6 August 2006 |date=19 June 2002 |publisher=[[Soccernet]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123140949/http://worldcup.espnsoccernet.com/story?id=217887&lang=us |archive-date=23 November 2006 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,265485,00.html|magazine=Time|title=Lay Off the Refs|date=24 June 2002|access-date=28 April 2010|first=Bobby|last=Ghosh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210141434/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,265485,00.html|archive-date=10 February 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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]] incorrectly ruled [[Offside (association football)|offside]], and the sending off of Totti after being presented with a second yellow card for an alleged [[diving (association football)|dive]] in the penalty area.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/2255952.stm | work=BBC News | title=Fifa investigates Moreno | date=13 September 2002 | access-date=28 April 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928152109/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/2255952.stm | archive-date=28 September 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/other_news/newsid_2055000/2055828.stm|work=BBC News|title=Blatter condemns officials|date=20 June 2002|access-date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305060734/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/other_news/newsid_2055000/2055828.stm|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
|accessdate=2006-07-25

}}
Trapattoni stayed on and guided the team at [[UEFA Euro 2004|Euro 2004]] in Portugal, where after draws against [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]] and [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] along with a victory over [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] in [[UEFA Euro 2004 Group C|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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fletcher |first=Paul |date=23 June 2004 |title=Sweden's conscience clear |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/sweden/3831783.stm |work=BBC Sport |location= |access-date=9 October 2021 |quote=The Italians finished level on points with Denmark and Sweden but went out because they scored the fewest goals in the games between the three sides. |archive-date=19 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019050651/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/sweden/3831783.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Goalkeeper [[Gianluigi Buffon]] and then Italian football federation president [[Franco Carraro]] accused the Swedish and Danish teams of fixing the result of their final match (2-2 was the result which consented both teams to advance).<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Italy angry at rivals' draw |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2004/italy/3832143.stm |work=BBC Sport |location= |date=23 June 2004 |access-date=9 May 2021 |archive-date=20 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620141742/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2004/italy/3832143.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite calls, then-UEFA spokesperson Robert Faulkner said the organization would not investigate the result.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Uefa will not investigate |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2004/3831443.st |work=BBC Sport |location= |date=22 June 2004 |access-date=9 May 2021 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
</ref> Baggio scored another late goal against [[Spain national football team|Spain]] in the quarter-final to seal a 2-1 win and two goals against [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] in the semi-final for another 2-1 win.<ref>

{{cite web
===2006 World Cup victory===
|url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/enwiki/w/pwc/mr_3097.html
[[File:FIFA world cup 2006 - Rome circus maximus flag.jpg|thumb|Within the crowd in the [[Circus Maximus]] in [[Rome]], after the Italian team scored against France]]
|title=Match Report - 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Italy - Spain
[[File:Italy 2006 FIFA World Cup Champion - Melandri, Napolitano, Cannavaro and Lippi.jpg|thumb|Italian President [[Giorgio Napolitano]] congratulates coach [[Marcello Lippi|Lippi]] and captain [[Fabio Cannavaro|Cannavaro]] after the final match against France.]]
|publisher=FIFAworldcup.com

|accessdate=2006-07-25
The Italian Football Federation replaced Trapattoni with [[Marcello Lippi]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=23 June 2004 |title=Trap refuses to resign |url=https://www.eurosport.com/football/euro/2004/trap-refuses-to-resign_sto605183/story.shtml |agency=Reuters |location= |access-date= 10 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=25 June 2004 |title=Lippi replaces Trapattoni as Italian coach |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/lippi-replaces-trapattoni-as-italian-coach-1.470335 |work=CBC Sports |location= |access-date=10 October 2021 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010203950/https://www.cbc.ca/sports/lippi-replaces-trapattoni-as-italian-coach-1.470335 |url-status=live }}</ref> With [[2006 Serie A scandal|controversy]] plaguing the [[2005-06 Serie A|domestic league]], Italy entered the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 World Cup]] as one of the [[2006 FIFA World Cup#Seeds|eight seeded teams]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://english.people.com.cn/200605/23/eng20060523_267753.html |title=People's Daily Online – Scandal threatening to bury Italy's Cup dream |publisher=English.people.com.cn |date=23 May 2006 |access-date=21 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019223102/http://english.people.com.cn/200605/23/eng20060523_267753.html |archive-date=19 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Lippi the latest to be sucked into crisis|url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1779716,00.html|first=Kevin|last=Buckley|newspaper=The Guardian|date=21 May 2006|access-date=27 June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060526072033/http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0%2C%2C1779716%2C00.html|archive-date=26 May 2006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=9 October 2005 |title=England and Italy Qualify for Cup |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-09-sp-newswire9-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |location= |access-date=10 October 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011031523/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-09-sp-newswire9-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=FIFA Organising Committee approves team classifications and final draw procedure |url=https://www.fifa.com/static-pages/germany2006/media-releases/fifa-organising-committee-approves-team-classifications-and-final-draw-101782 |location=Zurich, Switzerland |publisher=FIFA |agency= |date=6 December 2005 |access-date=11 October 2021}}</ref> Italy finished first in Group E with wins against Ghana and the Czech Republic and a draw with the United States.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061201171.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=Andrew | last=Dampf | access-date=5 May 2010 | title=Pirlo Leads Italy Past Ghana at World Cup | date=12 June 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513231811/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061201171.html | archive-date=13 May 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fifield |first=Dominic |date=22 June 2006 |title=Czech sparkle fizzles out as Inzaghi points Italy's way forward |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/jun/23/worldcup2006.match |work=The Guardian |location=Hamburg, Germany |access-date=10 October 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011031523/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/jun/23/worldcup2006.match |url-status=live }}</ref> In the [[2006 FIFA World Cup#Round of 16|round of 16]], Italy secured a 1–0 victory over [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]] with Francesco Totti scoring a penalty.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991534.stm|title=Italy 1–0 Australia|date=26 June 2006|work=BBC Sport|access-date=18 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105221857/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991534.stm|archive-date=5 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy overcame [[Ukraine national football team|Ukraine]], 3–0, after taking an early lead through [[Gianluca Zambrotta]] and additional goals coming from [[Luca Toni]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Lippi dedicates win to Pessotto|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5123318.stm|publisher=BBC|date=30 June 2006|access-date=25 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227050828/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5123318.stm|archive-date=27 December 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991640.stm|title=Germany 0–2 Italy (aet)|date=4 July 2006|work=BBC Sport|access-date=18 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419001247/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991640.stm|archive-date=19 April 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

</ref><ref>
On 9 July 2006, the ''Azzurri'' won their fourth World Cup title after defeating France in the [[2006 FIFA World Cup final|final]]. French captain [[Zinedine Zidane]] opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the seventh minute before [[Marco Materazzi]] scored from a corner kick, twelve minutes later. The score remained level and during extra-time and Zidane was sent off for [[headbutting]] Materazzi.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/aug/18/newsstory.sport2 |title=And Materazzi's exact words to Zidane were..., Football, guardian.co.uk |work=Guardian |location=UK |date=18 August 2007 |access-date=27 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212053652/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/aug/18/newsstory.sport2 |archive-date=12 February 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Italy went on to win the penalty shootout 5–3, with all Italian players scoring their kicks. The decisive penalty goal was scored by Grosso.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991652.stm|title=Italy 1–1 France (aet)|date=9 July 2006|work=BBC Sport|access-date=18 August 2009|first=Jonathan|last=Stevenson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930122300/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991652.stm|archive-date=30 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{cite web

|url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/enwiki/w/pwc/mr_3100.html
FIFA named seven Italian players&nbsp;— [[Gianluigi Buffon]], [[Fabio Cannavaro]], [[Gianluca Zambrotta]], [[Andrea Pirlo]], [[Gennaro Gattuso]], [[Francesco Totti]] and [[Luca Toni]]&nbsp;— to the 23-man tournament [[FIFA World Cup awards#All-Star Team|All Star Team]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Azzurri prominent in All Star Team |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/news/newsid=31923.html |publisher=FIFA.com |date=7 July 2006 |access-date=18 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614214225/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/news/newsid%3D31923.html |archive-date=14 June 2010 }}</ref> Buffon also won the [[Yashin Award|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 [[Christian Zaccardo|Zaccardo]] and the second from Zidane's penalty kick in the final, and remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes.<ref>{{cite news|title=Buffon collects Lev Yashin Award|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/news/newsid=28348.html|publisher=FIFA.com|date=10 July 2006|access-date=25 July 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012160711/http://fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/news/newsid%3D28348.html|archive-date=12 October 2007}}</ref> In honour of Italy winning a fourth World Cup, members of the squad were awarded the [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic|Italian Order of Merit]] of ''Cavaliere''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5164410.stm|title=Italy squad given heroes' welcome|date=10 July 2006|work=BBC Sport|access-date=18 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104142452/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5164410.stm|archive-date=4 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5163914.stm|title=Italian joy at World Cup victory|date=10 July 2006|work=BBC Sport|access-date=18 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104142416/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5163914.stm|archive-date=4 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
|title=Match Report - 1994 FIFA World Cup USA (TM): Bulgaria - Italy

|publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
===The decline of the World champions===
|accessdate=2006-07-25
Marcello Lippi, who had announced his resignation three days after the World Cup triumph, was replaced by [[Roberto Donadoni]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web|| url=http://www.repubblica.it/2006/07/sezioni/sport/calcio/donadoni-nuovo-ct/donadoni-nuovo-ct/donadoni-nuovo-ct.html| title=Nazionale, scelto l'erede di Lippi Donadoni è il nuovo ct degli azzurri| language=it| publisher=La Repubblica Sport| date=13 July 2006| access-date=9 August 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316093439/http://www.repubblica.it/2006/07/sezioni/sport/calcio/donadoni-nuovo-ct/donadoni-nuovo-ct/donadoni-nuovo-ct.html| archive-date=16 March 2008| url-status=live}}</ref> Italy qualified from their Euro 2008 qualifying [[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B|group]] ahead of France. On 14 February 2007, Italy climbed to first in the [[FIFA World Rankings]] for the second time.<ref name=first>{{cite news|title=Italy oust Brazil to take top spot|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/news/y=2007/m=2/news=italy-oust-brazil-take-top-spot-111685.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202143215/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/news/y=2007/m=2/news=italy-oust-brazil-take-top-spot-111685.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2017|newspaper=FIFA.com|date=14 February 2007}}</ref> At [[UEFA Euro 2008|Euro 2008]], the ''Azzurri'' lost 3–0 to the Netherlands in the opening match of the group stage. The following game against [[Romania national football team|Romania]] ended 1–1 thanks to a penalty save from [[Gianluigi Buffon]].<ref name="zambrotta">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2008/7363356.stm|title=Italy 1-1 Romania|date=13 June 2008|via=news.bbc.co.uk|access-date=5 June 2020|archive-date=5 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605101858/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/euro_2008/7363356.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy would win their final group game against France 2–0, a rematch of the 2006 World Cup final. The ''Azzurri'' were eliminated in the quarter-finals on penalties to eventual champions Spain. Within a week of the game, Roberto Donadoni's contract was terminated and Marcello Lippi was rehired as coach.<ref name="Lippireturns">{{cite news |url=http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/lippi-returns-manage-italy-190980 |title=Lippi returns to manage Italy |access-date=29 June 2014 |newspaper=TribalFootball.com |date=27 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118150352/http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/lippi-returns-manage-italy-190980 |archive-date=18 November 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

</ref> In the final, Italy and [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] played 120 minutes of scoreless football, taking the match to [[penalty shootout (football)|penalty shootout]]. Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3-2 after Baggio missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.<ref>
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 [[2009 FIFA Confederations Cup|tournament]] against the United States, but subsequent defeats to [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]] and Brazil meant that they finished third in the group on goals scored (points level with the US and Egypt), and were eliminated.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||title=FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009|url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/confederationscup/southafrica2009/origin1904-p.cxm.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/confederationscup/southafrica2009/match-center|access-date=4 February 2022|website=www.fifa.com|language=en}}</ref>
{{cite web

|url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/pwc/1994.html
At the [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010 World Cup]] in South Africa, reigning champions Italy were unexpectedly eliminated in the [[2010 FIFA World Cup Group F|first round]], finishing last place in their group. After being held to 1–1 draws with [[Paraguay national football team|Paraguay]] and [[New Zealand men's national football team|New Zealand]], they suffered a 3–2 loss to [[Slovakia national football team|Slovakia]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/24/italy-slovakia-world-cup-match-report|title=World Cup 2010: Italy exit as Slovakia turf out reigning champions|work=The Guardian|author=Paul Wilson|date=24 June 2010|access-date=29 April 2016|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611151136/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/24/italy-slovakia-world-cup-match-report|archive-date=11 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the first time Italy failed to win a single game at a World Cup tournament, and in doing so became only the third nation to be eliminated in the first round while being reigning World Cup champions.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.thelocal.it/20140603/italy-look-to-slay-ghost-of-world-cup-2010|title=Italy side looks to slay ghost of World Cup 2010|publisher=thelocal.it|date=3 June 2014|access-date=29 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601120415/http://www.thelocal.it/20140603/italy-look-to-slay-ghost-of-world-cup-2010|archive-date=1 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
|title=USA 1994

|publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
===Euro 2012 runners-up and fluctuating results (2010–2016)===
|accessdate=2006-07-25
[[File:Italy national football team Euro 2012 final.jpg|upright=1.36|thumb|The national football team of Italy before the UEFA Euro 2012 final, [[Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex|Olympic Stadium]], Kyiv, 1 July 2012]]
}}

</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 May 2010 |title=Fiorentina manager Prandelli accepts Italy job |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8695718.stm |newspaper=BBC Sport |access-date=26 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107175532/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8695718.stm |archive-date=7 January 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>

At [[UEFA Euro 2012]], Italy finished second in their group behind Spain, which earned them a quarter-final tie against England. After a mostly one-sided affair in which Italy failed to take their chances, they managed to beat England on penalties.<ref>{{cite news| last= McNulty| first= Phil| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18355305| title= England&nbsp;– Italy 0–0| date= 24 June 2012| newspaper= BBC Sport| access-date= 13 February 2018| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131108151407/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18355305| archive-date= 8 November 2013| url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last= Taylor|first= Daniel|url= https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jun/24/euro-2012-england-italy-quarter-final|title= Euro 2012: England hearts broken on penalties again as Italy triumph|date= 24 June 2012|newspaper= The Guardian|access-date= 11 December 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170202143616/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jun/24/euro-2012-england-italy-quarter-final|archive-date= 2 February 2017|url-status= live}}</ref> In the semi-final against Germany, two first-half goals by [[Mario Balotelli]] saw the Italians through to the final. In the [[UEFA Euro 2012 Final|final]], Italy fell to a 4–0 defeat to Spain.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2012/matches/round=15175/match=2003351/postmatch/report/index.html|title=Spain overpower Italy to win UEFA EURO 2012|publisher=UEFA.com|date=1 July 2012|access-date=2 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427074746/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2012/matches/round=15175/match=2003351/postmatch/report/index.html|archive-date=27 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the [[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup|2013 Confederations Cup]] in Brazil, Italy reached the semi-finals, losing 7–6 on penalties to Spain.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23026069|title=Spain 0 Italy 0|date=27 June 2013|work=BBC Sport|access-date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115235623/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23026069|archive-date=15 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy did manage to beat Uruguay in the third place play-off. At the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]], Italy defeated England 2–1 in their first match before succumbing to underdogs [[Costa Rica national football team|Costa Rica]] 1–0 in the second group stage match.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dampf |first=Andrew |date=20 June 2014 |title=Costa Rica continues to surprise by beating Italy |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/costa-rica-leads-italy-1-165655218--sow.html |newspaper=Yahoo! Sports |access-date=26 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623094642/http://sports.yahoo.com/news/costa-rica-leads-italy-1-165655218--sow.html |archive-date=23 June 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=25 June 2014 |title=Costa Rica continues to surprise by beating Italy |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28008605 |newspaper=BBC Sport |access-date=27 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627000802/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28008605 |archive-date=27 June 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Italy's last group match, they were knocked out by Uruguay 1–0, in a controversial match, where Italian player [[Claudio Marchisio]] was controversially sent off whilst Uruguay's [[Luis Suarez]] bit Italy's [[Giorgio Chiellini]] without any sanction.<ref name="marchisio">{{cite news |last=Duarte |first=Michael |date=24 June 2014 |title=Italy Vs. Uruguay Results And Highlights: Claudio Marchisio's Red Card Dooms Italy. Suarez Bites Again. |url=http://www.latintimes.com/italy-vs-uruguay-results-and-highlights-claudio-marchisios-red-card-dooms-italy-suarez-185431 |newspaper=Latin Times |access-date=27 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627072655/http://www.latintimes.com/italy-vs-uruguay-results-and-highlights-claudio-marchisios-red-card-dooms-italy-suarez-185431 |archive-date=27 June 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=24 June 2014 |title=World Cup: Luis Suarez mired in another biting controversy as Uruguay beat Italy |url=http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/305760/report |newspaper=Sky Sports |access-date=27 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627050743/http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/305760/report |archive-date=27 June 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Shortly after this loss, coach Cesare Prandelli resigned.<ref>{{cite news |date=24 June 2014 |title=World Cup 2014: Italy boss Cesare Prandelli to resign |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28009818 |newspaper=BBC Sport |access-date=27 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627070644/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28009818 |archive-date=27 June 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Former [[Juventus FC|Juventus]] manager [[Antonio Conte]] was selected to replace Prandelli. On 10 October 2015, Italy qualified for [[UEFA Euro 2016|Euro 2016]], courtesy of a 3–1 win over [[Azerbaijan national football team|Azerbaijan]];<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/italy-beats-azerbaijan-to-qualify-for-euro-2016/|title=Italy beats Azerbaijan to qualify for Euro 2016|publisher=SportsNet|date=10 October 2015|access-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223115540/http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/italy-beats-azerbaijan-to-qualify-for-euro-2016/|archive-date=23 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> the result meant that Italy had gone 50 games unbeaten in European qualifiers.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.espnfc.us/team/italy/162/blog/post/2658298/italy-reach-euro-2016-but-are-they-improving-under-conte|title=Italy qualify for Euro 2016 but are they improving under Antonio Conte?|publisher=ESPN FC|author1=James Horncastle|date=11 October 2015|access-date=13 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012200129/http://www.espnfc.us/team/italy/162/blog/post/2658298/italy-reach-euro-2016-but-are-they-improving-under-conte|archive-date=12 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> On 4 April 2016, it was announced that Antonio Conte would step down as Italy coach after Euro 2016 to become head coach of [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.football-italia.net/82322/official-conte-signs-chelsea|title=Official:Conte signs with Chelsea|publisher=Football Italia|date=4 April 2016|access-date=14 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202143127/http://www.football-italia.net/82322/official-conte-signs-chelsea|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The 23-man squad was initially criticised by many fans and members of the media for its lack of quality,<ref name="never underestimate">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.espnfc.us/european-championship/74/blog/post/2898768/italys-start-to-euro-2016-shows-you-should-never-underestimate-them|title=Italy's start to Euro 2016 shows you should never underestimate them|publisher=ESPN FC|first=James|last=Horncastle|date=21 June 2016|access-date=3 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160710224405/http://www.espnfc.us/european-championship/74/blog/post/2898768/italys-start-to-euro-2016-shows-you-should-never-underestimate-them|archive-date=10 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> which saw notable absences, such as Andrea Pirlo and [[Sebastian Giovinco]] being controversially left out.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.espnfc.us/italy/story/2879294/andrea-pirlo-and-sebastian-giovinco-omitted-from-italy-squad-due-to-mls-play-antonio-conte|title=MLS play cost Andrea Pirlo, Sebastian Giovinco their Italy chance&nbsp;– Conte|publisher=ESPN FC|author1=Ben Gladwell|date=24 May 2016|access-date=31 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527023631/http://www.espnfc.us/italy/story/2879294/andrea-pirlo-and-sebastian-giovinco-omitted-from-italy-squad-due-to-mls-play-antonio-conte|archive-date=27 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy opened Euro 2016 with a 2–0 victory over Belgium and qualified thanks to a win against Sweden in the second match, which made their defeat 1–0 to Ireland in the final group stage match irrelevant for access to the round of 16.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2016/matches/round=2000448/match=2017953/index.html|title=UEFA Euro 2016&nbsp;– Belgium-Italy|publisher=UEFA|date=13 June 2016|access-date=13 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612034343/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2016/matches/round=2000448/match=2017953/index.html|archive-date=12 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.football-italia.net/85982/eder-takes-sweden-down|title=Eder takes Sweden down|publisher=Football Italia|date=17 June 2016|access-date=17 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619202835/http://www.football-italia.net/85982/eder-takes-sweden-down|archive-date=19 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy subsequently defeated reigning European champions Spain 2–0 in the round of 16.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.goal.com/euro2016/en/article/champions-no-more-italys-sweet-revenge-on-spain-thanks-to-conte-masterclass/4vkb6h0jzdy21x1mn86ygvqef|title=Champions No More! Italy Get Sweet Revenge On Spain In Conte Masterclass|publisher=Goal.com|date=27 June 2016|access-date=27 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629094724/http://www.goal.com/euro2016/en/article/champions-no-more-italys-sweet-revenge-on-spain-thanks-to-conte-masterclass/4vkb6h0jzdy21x1mn86ygvqef|archive-date=29 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Italy were defeated by reigning [[2014 FIFA World Cup final|world champions]] Germany, in the quarter-finals on penalties, after a 1–1 draw.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/07/01/germany-vs-italy-euro-2016-quarter-final-live/|newspaper=The Telegraph|title=Germany vs Italy, Euro 2016: Germans win the shootout after Bonucci penalty cancels out Ozil opener|date=2 July 2016|access-date=2 July 2016|last1=Bull|first1=J. J.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705145235/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/07/01/germany-vs-italy-euro-2016-quarter-final-live/|archive-date=5 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=stride>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2016/matches/round=2000449/match=2017903/postmatch/report/|title=Germany finally defeat Italy to stride into semis|publisher=UEFA.com|access-date=3 July 2016|date=2 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322025852/https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2016/matches/round=2000449/match=2017903/postmatch/report/|archive-date=22 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Failure to qualify for 2018 World Cup===
After Conte's planned departure following Euro 2016, [[Gian Piero Ventura]] took over as manager for the team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/the-gentleman-ultra/2017/mar/24/italy-albania-gian-piero-ventura-manager-world-cup-2018 |title=Italy's veteran manager turns to youth to restore their former World Cup glories |author=Matt Santangelo |work=The Guardian |date=24 March 2017 |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> During [[2018 FIFA World Cup qualification|qualification]] for the 2018 World Cup, Italy finished second in Group G, five points behind Spain.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41917134 |title=World Cup 2018: Italy and the nightmare of their play-off against Sweden |date=10 November 2017 |publisher=bbc.com |access-date=4 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507193544/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41917134 |archive-date=7 May 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.espn.co.uk/football/blog/the-match/60/post/3195180/spain-thrash-italy-in-world-cup-qualifying-thanks-to-sublime-isco-performance|title=Ogden: Isco superb as Spain thrash Italy|publisher=espn.co.uk|date=2 September 2017|access-date=29 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329121043/http://www.espn.co.uk/football/blog/the-match/60/post/3195180/spain-thrash-italy-in-world-cup-qualifying-thanks-to-sublime-isco-performance|archive-date=29 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Italy would compete in the [[2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round|play-off round]] against Sweden, where they lost 1–0 on aggregate and therefore eliminated; the first time that Italy had failed to qualify for the World Cup since [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.football-italia.net/112772/ignominious-italy-out-world-cup|title=Ignominious Italy out of World Cup|publisher=Football Italia|date=13 November 2017|access-date=13 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117165450/https://www.football-italia.net/112772/ignominious-italy-out-world-cup|archive-date=17 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the match, veterans [[Andrea Barzagli]], [[Daniele De Rossi]] and captain [[Gianluigi Buffon]] all declared their retirement from the national team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://dailypost.ng/2017/11/14/gianluigi-buffon-barzagli-de-rossi-retire-italian-national-team/ |title=Gianluigi Buffon, Barzagli, De Rossi retire from Italian national team |author=John Owen Nwachukwu |publisher=Daily Post |date=14 November 2017 |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> On 15 November 2017, Ventura was dismissed as head coach,<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.football-italia.net/112858/official-ventura-sacked-italy|title=Official: Ventura sacked by Italy|publisher=Football Italia|date=15 November 2017|access-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615214552/https://www.football-italia.net/112858/official-ventura-sacked-italy|archive-date=15 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and on 20 November 2017, [[Carlo Tavecchio]] resigned as president of the Italian Football Federation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12022/11135517/italian-fa-president-carlo-tavecchio-resigns-at-council-meeting |title=Italian FA president Carlo Tavecchio resigns at council meeting |author=Lyall Thomas |publisher=Sky Sports |date=20 November 2017 |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> [[Luigi Di Biagio]] was called as [[caretaker manager]] and led the team in subsequent friendlies in March 2018, including the last of Buffon's 176 appearances on 23 March in a friendly against Argentina.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.football-italia.net/118934/italy-argentina-defeat-new-azzurri|title=Italy: Argentina defeat new Azzurri|publisher=Football Italia|date=23 March 2018}}</ref>

===Mancini era (2018–2023)===


====Resurgence and second European title====
Italy didn't progress beyond the group stage during the finals of [[Euro 96]]. Again, [[Gianfranco Zola]] failed to convert a decisive penalty against Germany, who eventually won the tournament. Then, during the qualification for the [[1998 FIFA World Cup]], the <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''Azzurri''</span> beat [[England national football team|England]] in [[Wembley Stadium (1924)|Wembley]] for the second time, 1-0 with a goal by Zola. In the [[1998 FIFA World Cup|final tournament]], Italy found themselves in another critical shootout, for the third World Cup in a row. The Italian side, where [[Alessandro Del Piero|Del Piero]] and Baggio renewed the controversial <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''staffetta''</span> (relay) between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970, held to a 0-0 draw the eventual World Champions and host team [[France national football team|France]] after extra time in the quarter-finals, but lost 4-3 in the shootout. With two goals scored in this tournament, [[Roberto Baggio]] is still the only Italian player who scored in three different [[FIFA World Cup]] editions.
On 14 May 2018, [[Roberto Mancini]] was announced as the new manager.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.football-italia.net/121375/official-italy-appoint-mancini |title=Official: Italy appoint Mancini |publisher=Football Italia |date=14 May 2018 |access-date=14 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615214540/https://www.football-italia.net/121375/official-italy-appoint-mancini |archive-date=15 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 16 August 2018, in the FIFA World Ranking that followed the 2018 World Cup, Italy dropped to their lowest ever ranking of 21st.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.football-italia.net/126268/italy-outside-world-top-20 |title=Italy outside world top 20 |publisher=Football Italia |date=16 August 2018 |access-date=16 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816230542/https://www.football-italia.net/126268/italy-outside-world-top-20 |archive-date=16 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 18 November 2019, Italy finished the [[UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying|Euro 2020 qualifying]] with ten wins in all ten matches, becoming only the sixth national side to qualify for a European Championship with a perfect record.<ref>{{cite news|title=Denmark and Switzerland through, Italy perfect |url=https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/news/0257-0e02a42c091d-785258d2ca1b-1000--denmark-and-switzerland-through/ |access-date=18 November 2019 |publisher=UEFA |date=18 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119033852/https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/news/0257-0e02a42c091d-785258d2ca1b-1000--denmark-and-switzerland-through/ |archive-date=19 November 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 17 March 2020, UEFA confirmed that [[UEFA Euro 2020|Euro 2020]] would be postponed by one year due to the [[Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/mediaservices/mediareleases/newsid=2641071.html |title=UEFA postpones EURO 2020 by 12 months |work=UEFA |date=17 March 2020 |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317162734/https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/mediaservices/mediareleases/newsid=2641071.html |archive-date=17 March 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>


[[File:Sergio Mattarella meets Italy national football team and Matteo Berrettini (12 July 2021) 24.jpg|thumb|President of Italy [[Sergio Mattarella]] (right) congratulates captain [[Giorgio Chiellini|Chiellini]] in Rome, the day after Italy's triumph at [[UEFA Euro 2020]].]]
In [[2000 UEFA European Football Championship|Euro 2000]], another shootout was this time to favour Italy, in the semi-final against co-host nation, [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]]. Italian goalkeeper [[Francesco Toldo]] saved one penalty during the match and two during 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. Emerging football star [[Francesco Totti]] scored his penalty with a [[Francesco Totti#Additional information|''cucchiaio'']] (spoon) chip. Italy finished the tournament as runners-up, losing the final 2&ndash;1 against France (to a [[golden goal]] in extra time), after conceding ''les Bleus''' equalizing goal just 30 seconds before the end of injury time (94'). After the defeat, coach [[Dino Zoff]] resigned after being clamorously criticized by [[A.C. Milan]] president and politician [[Silvio Berlusconi]].
At the delayed Euro 2020, Italy finished top of Group A, ahead of [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]], [[Switzerland national football team|Switzerland]], and [[Wales national football team|Wales]]. Being one of the host nations, Italy played all three group games at Rome's [[Stadio Olimpico]], and it became the first team in European Championship history to win each group stage match without conceding.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dawson |first=Rob |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-european-championship/story/4414995/italy-having-fun-at-euro-2020-perfect-in-the-group-stage-and-rested-for-the-knockout-rounds |title=Italy having fun at Euro 2020: Perfect in the group stage and rested for the knockout rounds |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=20 June 2021 |access-date=14 July 2021 |archive-date=21 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621173619/https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-european-championship/story/4414995/italy-having-fun-at-euro-2020-perfect-in-the-group-stage-and-rested-for-the-knockout-rounds |url-status=live}}</ref> In the round of 16, Italy defeated [[Austria national football team|Austria]] 2–1 at [[Wembley Stadium]] after extra time.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198511 |title=Italy need extra time to beat Austria |agency=[[BBC Sport]]|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=7 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707180443/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198511|url-status=live}}</ref> In the quarter-finals, Italy secured a 2–1 victory over [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]], before beating [[Spain national football team|Spain]] on penalties in the semi-finals.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198657 |title=Italy edge Belgium to set up Spain semi |agency=[[BBC Sport]]|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709205723/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198657|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198738 |title=Italy beat Spain on penalties to reach final |agency=[[BBC Sport]]|access-date=8 July 2021|archive-date=8 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708081501/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198738|url-status=live}}</ref>


In the [[UEFA Euro 2020 final|final]], on 11 July 2021, Italy won the European Championship defeating hosts [[England national football team|England]] at Wembley Stadium on penalties after a 1–1 draw,<ref>{{Cite news|title=England lose shootout in Euro 2020 final|language=en-GB|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198762|access-date=11 July 2021|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711170405/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198762|url-status=live}}</ref> for their second European title and their first since [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]]. Goalkeeper [[Gianluigi Donnarumma]] also won the ''Player of the Tournament'' award, given to the best player of the tournament.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 July 2021 |title=Gianluigi Donnarumma named Euro 2020 Player of the Tournament |website=UEFA.com |publisher=Union of European Football Associations |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/news/026b-12bbaca60278-20409c108613-1000/ |access-date=11 July 2021}}</ref> On 16 July, all members of the European Championship-winning squad were awarded the [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic|Italian Order of Merit]] of ''Cavaliere''.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://quirinale.it/elementi/59113|title=Mattarella ha conferito onorificenze motu proprio ai giocatori e allo staff della Nazionale vincitrice del campionato europeo|publisher=quirinale.it|date=16 July 2021|language=Italian}}</ref>
In the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup]] co-host country [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]] knocked out Italy in the Round of 16, reviving the 1966 nightmare. The match was marked by controversy, as referee [[Byron Moreno]] gave [[Francesco Totti]] a second yellow card in extra time for an alleged dive, and disallowed an Italian goal. Replays seemed to indicate both that the card was unfounded and the goal was good, but the decisions stood and South Korea won 2-1, again with a golden goal in extra time.<ref>See [[2002 FIFA World Cup (match reports)]]. Subsequent comments by Italian coach [[Giovanni Trapattoni]] and some other public figures in Italy [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/features/newsid_2060000/2060961.stm], coupled with more controversial refereeing decisions in South Korea's subsequent Quarter-final against [[Spanish national football team|Spain]] led to a conspiracy theory that South Korea were being unfairly favoured by officials. Even [[Sepp Blatter]], FIFA president, recognized that several episodes of wrong or controversial decisions against the ''Azzurri'' had cumulated during the course of the tournament, including Totti's yellow card, even if he rejected any conspirancy against the Italian team.[http://www.arabnews.com/?page=8&section=0&article=16212&d=21&m=6&y=2002]</small>. Referee Byron Moreno was suspended and removed by his federation a few years later, due to similar unfair decisions in other local matches.</ref>.


====Failure to qualify for 2022 World Cup====
A three-way tie in the group stage of the [[2004 UEFA European Football Championship|2004 European Championship]] left Italy as the "odd man out", and they failed to qualify for the quarter-finals, finishing behind [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]] and [[Sweden national football team|Sweden]] on the basis of number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams.<ref>There was some controversy as both Sweden and Denmark knew before their final match that a 2-2 draw between them would qualify both Scandinavian sides, leaving the Italians out, and that is exactly what transpired. Totti again found himself at the center of controversy for the Italian side after being suspended for three games for a spitting incident in the match against Denmark.</ref> The winning goal scored during [[stoppage time]] against [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] by [[Antonio Cassano|Cassano]] resulted useless, leaving the Italian striker in tears at the end of the game.
In October 2021, Italy participated in the [[2021 UEFA Nations League Finals|UEFA Nations League Finals]] as hosts, and lost the semi-final against Spain, 2–1 at the [[San Siro]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Spain beat Italy in Nations League semi |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58820411 |access-date=10 October 2021 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010205730/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58820411 |url-status=live}}</ref> This match meant the end of the record 37 game unbeaten run and the first defeat for Italy in more than three years. Four days later, Italy won the third-place play-off, 2–1 against Belgium.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Italy beat Belgium to claim third|language=en-GB|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58864343|access-date=10 October 2021|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010181311/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58864343|url-status=live}}</ref> On 15 November, Italy drew 0–0 with [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]] in their final [[2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group C|2022 World Cup qualifying Group C]] match and finished in second place, two points behind Switzerland.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/59202147 |title=World Cup qualifiers: Impressive NI deny Italy a World Cup place with dramatic draw |date=15 November 2021 |publisher=bbc.com}}</ref> On 24 March 2022, Italy lost 1–0 in the semi-final of the play-offs against [[North Macedonia national football team|North Macedonia]] which was their first ever world Cup qualifying defeat at home, therefore, failing to qualify for the World Cup for a second consecutive time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60869125 |title=Italy 0–1 North Macedonia: European champions stunned in World Cup qualifier |author=Mantej Mann |publisher=BBC Sport |date=24 March 2022 |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60869213 |title=Italy out of World Cup: Can Azzurri turn 'disaster' against North Macedonia into better future? |author=Daniele Verri |publisher=BBC Sport |date=25 March 2022 |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> On 1 June, Italy took part in the [[CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions]] match, rebranded as the [[2022 Finalissima]], losing 3–0 against defending [[2021 Copa América|Copa América]] champion [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.uefa.com/finalissima/news/0276-1549514538ab-f782a73cf733-1000/ |title=Italy 0–3 Argentina: South American champions cruise to Finalissima glory |website=UEFA.com |publisher=Union of European Football Associations |date=1 June 2022 |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602193330/https://www.uefa.com/finalissima/news/0276-1549514538ab-f782a73cf733-1000/ |url-status=live}}</ref>


On 26 September 2022, Italy qualified for the [[2023 UEFA Nations League Finals]] after beating [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]] 2–0 in [[Budapest]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63042165 |title=Hungary 0–2 Italy: European champions reach Nations League finals |publisher=BBC Sport |date=26 September 2022 |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> On 15 June 2023, Italy played the semi-final against Spain, losing 2–1.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Spain 2–1 Italy: Joselu winner sends La Roja to Nations League final |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65922637 |access-date=19 June 2023 |archive-date=17 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617112626/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65922637 |url-status=live}}</ref> Three days later, Italy won the third-place final 3–2 against the Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Netherlands 2–3 Italy: European champions win Nations League play-off |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65944652 |access-date=19 June 2023 |archive-date=18 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618214603/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65944652 |url-status=live}}</ref> Mancini's stay on Italy's bench ended two months later following his resignation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66492553 |title=Roberto Mancini resigns as Italy boss after five-year reign |publisher=BBC Sport |date=13 August 2023 |access-date=16 October 2023}}</ref>
===2006 World Cup: Champions for the fourth time===
Italy's campaign in the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 World Cup]], held in Germany, was followed by open pessimism[http://english.people.com.cn/200605/23/eng20060523_267753.html], caused by the controversies following clamorous [[2006 Serie A scandal]]. But these predictions were then going to be refuted, since <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''Azzurri''</span> eventually won their fourth [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]].


===Spalletti years (2023–present)===
Italy won their opening game against [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]] 2-0, with goals coming from [[Andrea Pirlo]] (40') and [[Vincenzo Iaquinta]] (83'). The team performance was judged the best among the opening games by FIFA president [[Sepp Blatter]][http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061201171.html].
[[Luciano Spalletti]] was chosen as the new coach,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/aug/18/former-napoli-manager-luciano-spalletti-takes-charge-of-italy |title=Former Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti takes charge of Italy |work=The Guardian |date=18 August 2023 |access-date=16 October 2023}}</ref> and as of September 2023 he led the team in the last six games of [[UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying|Euro 2024 qualifying]], managing to achieve direct qualification to the [[UEFA Euro 2024|European Championship]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.co.uk/football/report/_/gameId/655469 |title=Ukraine 0-0 Italy (20 Nov, 2023) Game Analysis - ESPN (UK) |publisher=ESPN |date=20 November 2023 |access-date=23 November 2023 }}</ref> Italy were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 following a 2–0 loss to [[Switzerland national football team|Switzerland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40460124/euro-2024-italy-luciano-spalletti-responsibility-switzerland |title=Spalletti: Italy Euro '24 failure my 'responsibility' |work=ESPN.com |date=29 June 2024 |access-date=29 June 2024 }}</ref>


==Rivalries==
The second match was a much less convincing 1-1 draw with [[USA national football team|USA]], with the opening goal by [[Alberto Gilardino]] equalized by a [[Cristian Zaccardo]] [[own goal]]. After the equalizing goal, [[Daniele De Rossi]] and two American players were sent off, leaving only nineteen men on the field for nearly the entirety of the second half, but the score remained the same. De Rossi was suspended for four matches for elbowing American player [[Brian McBride]] and could only return for the final match.
* '''[[Brazil–Italy football rivalry|Italy vs. Brazil]]''': matches between the nations are known as the World Derby ([[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''Clássico Mundial'').<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.abc.es/deportes/futbol/20130321/abci-previa-brasil-italia-201303201706.html|title=Brasil-Italia, el clásico del fútbol mundial que consagró el viejo Sarriá|author=víctor pérez|work=ABC.es|date=21 March 2013|access-date=11 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622220352/http://www.abc.es/deportes/futbol/20130321/abci-previa-brasil-italia-201303201706.html|archive-date=22 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The most successful football nations in the world, they have achieved nine [[FIFA World Cup|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 FIFA World Cup Final|1970 World Cup Final]] and the [[1994 FIFA World Cup Final|1994 World Cup final]] in which Brazil won 4–1 and 3–2 on [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalties]] after a goalless draw respectively.<ref name="notablematches2">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1932884.html|title=Brazil v Italy: classic encounters|publisher=UEFA.com|author=Paolo Menicucci|date=22 June 2013|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220124211/http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1932884.html|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[France–Italy football rivalry|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.<ref name="ci risiamo2">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.federtennis.it/DettaglioNews.asp?IDNews=67865|title=CI RISIAMO: ITALIA-FRANCIA Un'accesa rivalità che parte da lontano|date=30 May 2012|publisher=federtennis.it|language=it|access-date=11 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224211325/http://www.federtennis.it/DettaglioNews.asp?IDNews=67865|archive-date=24 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="storia recente2">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.fantagazzetta.com/approfondimenti/storia-recente-di-italia-francia-165303|title=Storia recente di Italia-Francia|date=14 November 2012|publisher=fantagazzetta.com|language=it|access-date=11 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224213930/http://www.fantagazzetta.com/approfondimenti/storia-recente-di-italia-francia-165303|archive-date=24 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Notable matches in the [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]] and the [[UEFA European Championship|European Football Championship]] include the [[2006 FIFA World Cup Final|2006 World Cup Final]], when the Italians defeated the French 5–3 in the penalty shoot-out, after a 1–1 draw, and the [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000 European Championship]], won by France with an extra-time [[golden goal]] by [[David Trezeguet]].<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/|title=FIFA Tournaments |last=FIFA.com|website=www.fifa.com|access-date=4 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219191434/https://www.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/|archive-date=19 February 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Germany–Italy football rivalry|Italy vs. Germany]]''': matches between the two nations have cumulated in five matches in the World Cup, notably in the "[[Italy v West Germany (1970 FIFA World Cup)|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.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=569/match=1838/index.html|title=1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico – Matches – Italy–Germany FR|last=FIFA.com|website=FIFA.com|access-date=29 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329015426/https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round%3D569/match%3D1838/index.html|archive-date=29 March 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> Germany has also won three [[UEFA European Championship|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.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/euro-2012/italy-germany-euro2012-semifinals/|title=Italy, Germany renew rivalry at Euro|publisher=sportsnet.ca|date=28 June 2012|access-date=11 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329025400/http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/euro-2012/italy-germany-euro2012-semifinals/|archive-date=29 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 [[Exhibition game#International football|friendly competitions]].<ref name="stride"/>
* '''[[Italy–Spain football rivalry|Italy vs. Spain]]''': this is a less heated and less heartfelt rivalry for the Italians, especially when compared to those with Germany and France. Matches between Italy and Spain are known as the Mediterranean Derby ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''Rivalidad futbolística Italia-España)'', named after the [[Mediterranean Sea]] that separates the two nations.<ref name="med212">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.sefutbol.com/derbi-mediterraneo-historia-rivalidad-dos-mejores-selecciones-sub-21|title=El derbi mediterráneo: historia de una rivalidad entre las dos mejores selecciones Sub-21|trans-title=The Mediterranean derby: history of a rivalry between the two best Under-21 teams|language=es|publisher=[[Royal Spanish Football Federation]]|website=Sefutbol|date=26 June 2017|access-date=11 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011133354/http://www.sefutbol.com/derbi-mediterraneo-historia-rivalidad-dos-mejores-selecciones-sub-21|archive-date=11 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Matches between them have been contested since 1920, and although they are not immediate geographical neighbours, their rivalry at international level is enhanced by the strong performances of their representative clubs in UEFA competitions.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2249326.html|title=Spain v Italy: UEFA Champions League finals|publisher=[[UEFA]]|date=28 May 2015|access-date=29 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630180108/https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2249326.html|archive-date=30 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://forzaitalianfootball.com/2017/06/cambiasso-juventus-only-italian-club-that-lose-to-the-spanish/|title=Cambiasso: Juventus only Italian club that lose to the Spanish|website=Forza Italian Football|date=23 June 2017|access-date=29 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629102444/https://forzaitalianfootball.com/2017/06/cambiasso-juventus-only-italian-club-that-lose-to-the-spanish/|archive-date=29 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the quarterfinal match between them at [[UEFA Euro 2008|Euro 2008]], the rivalry has renewed, with its most notable match being the [[UEFA Euro 2012 final]], which Spain won 4–0.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://euro2016.tsn.ca/matches/match/2018002/|title=Spain renews its rivalry with Italy|publisher=TSN.ca|date=25 June 2016|access-date=7 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704063559/http://euro2016.tsn.ca/matches/match/2018002/|archive-date=4 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bbc_report2">{{cite news |last=McNulty |first=Phil |date=1 July 2012 |title=Spain 4–0 Italy |work=BBC Sport |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18355496 |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826213123/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18355496 |archive-date=26 August 2012}}</ref>


==Team image==
Italy finished on top of Group E with a neat 2-0 win against the [[Czech Republic national football team|Czech Republic]], with goals from [[Marco Materazzi]] (26') and [[Filippo Inzaghi]] (87'), advancing to the [[2006 FIFA World Cup#Round of 16|Round of 16]] in the [[2006 FIFA World Cup#knockout stages|knockout stages]], where [[Australia national football team|Australia]] were beaten 1-0. In this match, Materazzi was [[2006 FIFA World Cup controversies#Italy vs. Australia .28Second round.29|controversially]] sent off early in the second half, but in the end the <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''Azzurri''</span> won with a controversial penalty kick, won by [[Fabio Grosso]] and converted in the 95th minute by Totti.


===Kits and crest===
The quarter-final match was a 3-0 victory against [[Ukraine national football team|Ukraine]], with [[Gianluca Zambrotta]] opening the scoring (6') and [[Luca Toni]] scoring twice (59' and 69'). Manager [[Marcello Lippi]] dedicated the victory to former Italian international [[Gianluca Pessotto]], who was recovering from an alleged suicide attempt.<ref>
{{Commons|Italy national football team kits}}
{{cite news
{{Commons|Italy national football team kits (goalkeeper kits)}}
|title=Lippi dedicates win to Pessotto
[[File:Italy national football team1910.jpg|thumb|left|Italy in 1910, wearing the original white jersey. They would switch to the traditional blue shirt a year later.]]
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5123318.stm
{{multiple image
|publisher=BBC
| align = right
|date=[[2006-06-30]]
| direction = vertical
|accessdate=2006-07-25
| image1 = Giuseppe Meazza 1930-1933.jpg
| width1 = 130
| alt1 = Giuseppe Meazza in the early 1930s wearing Italy's blue shirt with the cross of the [[House of Savoy]] badge.
| caption1 = The blue shirt had a [[House of Savoy]] badge during the early 1930s.
| image2 = Giacinto Facchetti, Italia, Euro '68.jpg
| width2 = 130
| alt2 = Giacinto Facchetti wearing the classic Italian uniform in 1968: blue shirt, white shorts and blue socks and the tricolour badge.
| caption2 = Italy's classic kit, worn by Giacinto Facchetti in 1968
}}
}}
</ref>


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.<ref name="passionemaglie.it">{{cite news|url=http://www.passionemaglie.it/2011/01/la-maglia-azzurra-nei-suoi-100-anni-di-storia/|title=La maglia azzurra nei suoi 100 anni di storia: tutte le divise dell'Italia|publisher=passionemaglie.it|date=17 January 2011|language=it|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022095654/http://www.passionemaglie.it/2011/01/la-maglia-azzurra-nei-suoi-100-anni-di-storia/|archive-date=22 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> 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).<ref name="passionemaglie.it"/> The team later became known as ''gli Azzurri'' (the Blues).<ref name="passionemaglie.it"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.corrieredellosport.it/calcio/euro_2012/2011/01/05-148079/Italia,+la+maglia+azzurra+compie+cento+anni|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731013257/http://www.corrieredellosport.it/calcio/euro_2012/2011/01/05-148079/Italia,+la+maglia+azzurra+compie+cento+anni|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 July 2013|title=Italia, la maglia azzurra compie cento anni|publisher=corrieredellosport.it|date=5 January 2011|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.thoughtco.com/azzurro-2011518|title=What Is Italy's National Color?|publisher=thoughtco.com|date=17 March 2017|access-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627091249/https://www.thoughtco.com/azzurro-2011518|archive-date=27 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=10 July 2021|title=Football-mad Italians gear up for big night|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57783267|access-date=15 July 2021|archive-date=15 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715105801/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57783267|url-status=live}}</ref>
In the semi-final, that would be remembered as the most memorable game of the event, Italy beat hosts [[Germany national football team|Germany]] 2-0, with the two goals coming in the last two minutes of extra-time. [[Fabio Grosso]] scored the first goal in the 119th minute, after a disguised Pirlo pass found him open in the penalty area, and [[Alessandro Del Piero]] sealed the victory, by scoring in the last minute of extratime.


In the 1930s, Italy wore a black kit, ordered by [[Kingdom of Italy under Fascism (1922–1943)|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.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.gianfrancoronchi.net/foto/maglie_calcio/Nazionale/Eraldo-Monzeglio-Maglia-NERA-Nazionale-1935-_formazione-dell_Italia-schierata|title=Eraldo Monzeglio, Maglia nera Nazionale 1935 (formazione dell'Italia schierata e altri momenti dell'incontro)|publisher=gianfrancoronchi.net|language=it|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409121527/http://www.gianfrancoronchi.net/foto/maglie_calcio/nazionale/eraldo-monzeglio-maglia-nera-nazionale-1935-_formazione-dell_italia-schierata|archive-date=9 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> A blue shirt, white shorts and black socks were worn at the [[1936 Summer Olympics|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/News/Sport/Francia-1938-lItalia-fa-il-bis-a-Parigi_505793937.html|title=Francia 1938, l'Italia fa il bis a Parigi|publisher=adnkronos.com|language=it|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630221725/http://www1.adnkronos.com/IGN/News/Sport/Francia-1938-lItalia-fa-il-bis-a-Parigi_505793937.html|archive-date=30 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Image:FIFA world cup 2006 - Rome circus maximus flag.jpg|thumb|250px|Within the crowd in [[Circus Maximus]] in [[Rome]], after the Italian team scored against France]]


After World War II, the fascist regime fell and the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|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 ''[[flag of Italy|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.<ref name="passionemaglie.it"/>
The <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">''Azzurri''</span> won their fourth World Cup, defeating [[France national football team|France]] in [[Berlin]], on [[July 9]], 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time. French captain [[Zinedine Zidane]] opened the scoring in the 7th minute with a tricky penalty kick, controversially awarded for a foul by Materazzi. Twelve minutes later, a header by Materazzi, from a perfectly placed corner by Pirlo, scored the equalizer. In the second half, a headed goal by Toni was nullified for an offside. At 110', Zidane was sent off after a head butt, provoked by an insult directed at him by Materazzi; the two players were eventually fined by the FIFA. Italy then won the penalty shoot-out 5-3, after [[David Trézéguet]]'s attempt hit the crossbar and Italy scoring on all five attempts, Grosso converting the final penalty past French keeper Barthez.


In 1983, to celebrate the victory at the World Cup of the previous year, three gold [[star (football badge)|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.<ref name="passionemaglie.it"/>
Ten different players scored for Italy and five goals out of twelve were scored by substitutes, while four goals were scored by defenders. Seven players - [[Gianluigi Buffon]], [[Fabio Cannavaro]], [[Gianluca Zambrotta|Zambrotta]], [[Andrea Pirlo|Pirlo]], [[Gennaro Gattuso]], [[Francesco Totti|Totti]] and [[Luca Toni|Toni]] - were named to the 23-man tournament [[FIFA World Cup awards#All-Star Team|All Star Team]].<ref>

{{cite news
The first known kit manufacturer was [[Adidas]] in 1974. From 2003 to 2022, the kit was made by [[Puma SE|Puma]].<ref name="passionemaglie.it"/> Since the 2000s, an all-blue uniform including blue shorts has occasionally been used, particularity in international tournaments.<ref name="passionemaglie.it"/> 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 as part of a four-year deal.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/adidas-ousts-puma-kit-italy-soccer-team-2023-2022-03-09/|title=Adidas trumps rival Puma to supply Italian soccer kit from 2023|publisher=reuters.com|date=9 March 2022}}</ref>
|title=Azzurri prominent in All Star Team

|url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060707/1/8n9b.html
{| class="wikitable"
|publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
! Kit supplier
|date=[[2006-07-07]]
! Period
|accessdate=2006-07-25
|-
|''No supplier''
|1910–1973
|-
|{{flagicon|FRG}} [[Adidas]]
|1974–1977
|-
|{{flagicon|ITA}} Baila
|1978–1979
|-
|{{flagicon|FRA|1974}} [[Le Coq Sportif]]
|1980–1984
|-
|{{flagicon|ITA}} Ennerre
|1985
|-
|{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Diadora]]
|1986–1994
|-
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Nike Inc|Nike]]
|1995–1998
|-
|{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Kappa (brand)|Kappa]]
|1999–2002
|-
|{{flagicon|GER}} [[Puma SE|Puma]]
|2003–2022
|-
|{{flagicon|GER}} Adidas
|2023–present
|}

==Coaching staff==
{{Main|List of Italy national football team managers}}
[[File:Luciano Spalletti.JPG|thumb|[[Luciano Spalletti]], the current head coach of Italy]]
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'' (''{{langx|it|commissario tecnico}}'') or ''CT.'' The use of this title has since then expanded into other team sports in Italy.

{{Fb cs header}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Head coach|s={{flagicon|ITA}} [[Luciano Spalletti]]}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Assistant coach|s={{flagicon|ITA}} [[Marco Domenichini]]}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Assistants|s={{flagicon|ITA}} [[Daniele Baldini]]<br>{{flagicon|ITA}} Salvatore Russo}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Goalkeeping coach|s={{flagicon|ITA}} [[Marco Savorani]]}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Athletic trainers|s={{flagicon|ITA}} Francesco Sinatti<br>{{flagicon|ITA}} Franco Ferrini}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Match analysts|s={{flagicon|ITA}} Marco Mannucci<br>{{flagicon|ITA}} Renato Baldi}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Doctors|s={{flagicon|ITA}} Angelo De Carli<br>{{flagicon|ITA}} Carmine Costabile}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Nutritionist|s={{flagicon|ITA}} Matteo Pincella}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Physiotherapists|s={{flagicon|ITA}} Mauro Doimi<br>{{flagicon|ITA}} Fabio Sannino<br>{{flagicon|ITA}} Emanuele Randelli<br>{{flagicon|ITA}} Fabrizio Scalzi}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Osteopath|s={{flagicon|ITA}} Walter Martinelli}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Head of delegation|s={{flagicon|ITA}} [[Gianluigi Buffon]]}}
{{Fb cs staff|bg=|p=Secretary|s={{flagicon|ITA}} Emiliano Cozzi}}
{{Fb cs footer|u=|s=<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=https://www.figc.it/it/nazionali/azzurri/nazionale-a/staff/|title=Staff|publisher=FIGC|language=it|access-date=5 August 2023}}</ref>|date=April 2024}}

==Results and fixtures==
{{Main|Italy national football team results}}
{{Further|Italy national football team results (2010–present)|2024–25 in Italian football}}

The following is a list of match results in the last twelve months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

{{legend2|#CCFFCC|Win|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|#FFFFCC|Draw|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|#FFCCCC|Loss|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|#FFFFFF|Fixture|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

===2024===
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 21 March 2024
|time = 17:00 [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]] ([[UTC−04:00]])
|round = [[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|VEN}}
|score = 1–2
|report = https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/friendlies/match/2040005/
|team2 = {{fb|ITA}}
|goals1 =
*[[Darwin Machís|Machís]] {{goal|43}}
|goals2 =
*[[Mateo Retegui|Retegui]] {{goal|40||80}}
|stadium = [[Chase Stadium]]
|location = [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]], United States
|attendance =
|referee = [[Rubiel Vazquez]] ([[United States Soccer Federation|United States]])
|result = W
}}
}}
{{football box collapsible
</ref> Buffon also won the [[FIFA World Cup awards#Yashin Award|Lev Yashin Award]], given to the best goalkeeper of the tournament; he conceded only two goals in the tournament, the first an own goal by Zaccardo and the second from Zidane's penalty, and remained unbeaten for 460 consecutive minutes.<ref>
|format=1
{{cite news
|date = 24 March 2024
|title=Buffon collects Lev Yashin Award
|time = 16:00 [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]] ([[UTC−04:00]])
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5123318.stm
|round = [[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|publisher=FIFAworldcup.com
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ECU}}
|date=[[2006-07-10]]
|score = 0–2
|accessdate=2006-07-25
|report = https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/friendlies/match/2040009/
|team2 = {{fb|ITA}}
|goals1 =
|goals2 =
*[[Lorenzo Pellegrini|Pellegrini]] {{goal|3}}
*[[Nicolò Barella|Barella]] {{goal|90+4}}
|stadium = [[Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)|Red Bull Arena]]
|location = [[Harrison, New Jersey|Harrison]], United States
|attendance = 18,000
|referee = [[Jon Freemon]] ([[United States Soccer Federation|United States]])
|result = W
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 4 June 2024
|time = 21:00 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ITA}}
|score = 0–0
|report = https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/friendlies/match/2040258/
|team2 = {{fb|TUR}}
|goals1 =
|goals2 =
|stadium = [[Stadio Renato Dall'Ara]]
|location = [[Bologna]], Italy
|attendance = 25,012
|referee = [[Sebastian Gishamer]] ([[Austrian Football Association|Austria]])
|result = D
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 9 June 2024
|time = 20:45 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ITA}}
|score = 1–0
|report = https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/friendlies/match/2040264/
|team2 = {{fb|BIH}}
|goals1 =
*[[Davide Frattesi|Frattesi]] {{goal|38}}
|goals2 =
|stadium = [[Stadio Carlo Castellani]]
|location = [[Empoli]], Italy
|attendance = 12,000
|referee = [[Chrysovalantis Theouli]] ([[Cyprus Football Association|Cyprus]])
|result = W
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 15 June 2024
|time = 21:00 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[UEFA Euro 2024 Group B#Italy vs Albania|UEFA Euro 2024 Group B]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ITA}}
|score = 2–1
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/match/2036164/
|team2 = {{fb|ALB}}
|goals1 =
*[[Alessandro Bastoni|Bastoni]] {{goal|11}}
*[[Nicolò Barella|Barella]] {{goal|16}}
|goals2 =
*[[Nedim Bajrami|Bajrami]] {{goal|1}}
|stadium = [[Westfalenstadion]]
|location = [[Dortmund]], Germany
|attendance = 60,512
|referee = [[Felix Zwayer]] ([[German Football Association|Germany]])
|result = W
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 20 June 2024
|time = 21:00 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[UEFA Euro 2024 Group B#Spain vs Italy|UEFA Euro 2024 Group B]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ESP}}
|score = 1–0
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/match/2036175/
|team2 = {{fb|ITA}}
|goals1 =
*[[Riccardo Calafiori|Calafiori]] {{goal|55|o.g.}}
|goals2 =
|stadium = [[Arena AufSchalke]]
|location = [[Gelsenkirchen]], Germany
|attendance = 49,528
|referee = [[Slavko Vinčić]] ([[Football Association of Slovenia|Slovenia]])
|result = L
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 24 June 2024
|time = 21:00 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[UEFA Euro 2024 Group B#Croatia vs Italy|UEFA Euro 2024 Group B]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|CRO}}
|score = 1–1
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/match/2036188/
|team2 = {{fb|ITA}}
|goals1 =
*[[Luka Modrić|Modrić]] {{goal|55}}
|goals2 =
*[[Mattia Zaccagni|Zaccagni]] {{goal|90+8}}
|stadium = [[Red Bull Arena (Leipzig)|Red Bull Arena]]
|location = [[Leipzig]], Germany
|attendance = 38,322
|referee = [[Danny Makkelie]] ([[Royal Dutch Football Association|Netherlands]])
|result = D
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 29 June 2024
|time = 18:00 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[UEFA Euro 2024 knockout stage#Switzerland vs Italy|UEFA Euro 2024 Round of 16]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|SUI}}
|score = 2–0
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/match/2036198/
|team2 = {{fb|ITA}}
|goals1 =
*[[Remo Freuler|Freuler]] {{goal|37}}
*[[Ruben Vargas|Vargas]] {{goal|46}}
|goals2 =
|stadium = [[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympiastadion]]
|location = [[Berlin]], Germany
|attendance = 68,172
|referee = [[Szymon Marciniak]] ([[Polish Football Association|Poland]])
|result = L
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 6 September 2024
|time = 20:45 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Group 2|2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|FRA}}
|score = 1–3
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2040058/
|team2 = {{fb|ITA}}
|goals1 =
*[[Bradley Barcola|Barcola]] {{goal|1}}
|goals2 =
*[[Federico Dimarco|Dimarco]] {{goal|30}}
*[[Davide Frattesi|Frattesi]] {{goal|51}}
*[[Giacomo Raspadori|Raspadori]] {{goal|74}}
|stadium = [[Parc des Princes]]
|location = [[Paris]], France
|attendance = 44,956
|referee = [[Sandro Schärer]] ([[Swiss Football Association|Switzerland]])
|result = W
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 9 September 2024
|time = 20:45 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Group 2|2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ISR}}
|score = 1–2
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2040077/
|team2 = {{fb|ITA}}
|goals1 =
*[[Mohammad Abu Fani|Abu Fani]] {{goal|90}}
|goals2 =
*[[Davide Frattesi|Frattesi]] {{goal|38}}
*[[Moise Kean|Kean]] {{goal|62}}
|stadium = [[Bozsik Aréna]]{{efn|group=note|Due to the [[2023 Israel–Hamas war|Israel–Hamas war]], Israel were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/mediaservices/mediareleases/news/0286-194079070fc0-ee97b2cd5400-1000/ |title=European Qualifier match between Belgium and Sweden declared abandoned with half-time result confirmed as final |website=UEFA.com |publisher=Union of European Football Associations |date=19 October 2023 |access-date=23 November 2023}}</ref>}}
|location = [[Budapest]], Hungary
|attendance = 2,090
|referee = [[Ivan Kružliak]] ([[Slovak Football Association|Slovakia]])
|result = W
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 10 October 2024
|time = 20:45 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Group 2|2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ITA}}
|score = 2–2
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2040102/
|team2 = {{fb|BEL}}
|goals1 =
*[[Andrea Cambiaso|Cambiaso]] {{goal|1}}
*[[Mateo Retegui|Retegui]] {{goal|24}}
|goals2 =
*[[Maxim De Cuyper|De Cuyper]] {{goal|42}}
*[[Leandro Trossard|Trossard]] {{goal|61}}
|stadium = [[Stadio Olimpico]]
|location = [[Rome]], Italy
|attendance = 44,297
|referee = [[Espen Eskås]] ([[Norwegian Football Federation|Norway]])
|result = D
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 14 October 2024
|time = 20:45 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Group 2|2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ITA}}
|score = 4–1
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2040131/
|team2 = {{fb|ISR}}
|goals1 =
*[[Mateo Retegui|Retegui]] {{goal|41|pen.}}
*[[Giovanni Di Lorenzo|Di Lorenzo]] {{goal|54||79}}
*[[Davide Frattesi|Frattesi]] {{goal|72}}
|goals2 =
*[[Mohammad Abu Fani|Abu Fani]] {{goal|66}}
|stadium = [[Stadio Friuli]]
|location = [[Udine]], Italy
|attendance = 11,700
|referee = [[Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea]] ([[Royal Spanish Football Federation|Spain]])
|result = W
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 14 November 2024
|time = 20:45 [[Central European Time|CET]] ([[UTC+01:00]])
|round = [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Group 2|2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|BEL}}
|score = 0–1
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2040149/
|team2 = {{fb|ITA}}
|goals1 =
|goals2 =
[[Sandro Tonali|Tonali]] {{goal|11}}
|stadium = [[King Baudouin Stadium]]
|location = [[Brussels]], Belgium
|attendance = 41,367
|referee = [[Radu Petrescu]] ([[Romanian Football Federation|Romania]])
|result = W
}}
{{football box collapsible
|format=1
|date = 17 November 2024
|time = 20:45 [[Central European Time|CET]] ([[UTC+01:00]])
|round = [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Group 2|2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2]]
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ITA}}
|score = 1–3
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2040179/
|team2 = {{fb|FRA}}
|goals1 =
*[[Andrea Cambiaso|Cambiaso]] {{goal|35}}
|goals2 =
*[[Adrien Rabiot|Rabiot]] {{goal|2||65}}
*[[Guglielmo Vicario|Vicario]] {{goal|33|o.g.}}
|stadium = [[San Siro]]
|location = [[Milan]], Italy
|attendance = 68,158
|referee = [[Slavko Vinčić]] ([[Football Association of Slovenia|Slovenia]])
|result = L
}}
}}
</ref>


===After the World Cup===
===2025===
{{football box collapsible
Days after the Italian triumph in the World Cup, Lippi announced his resignation.<ref>
|format=1
{{cite news
|date = 20 March 2025
|title=Lippi the latest to be sucked into crisis
|time = 20:45 [[Central European Time|CET]] ([[UTC+01:00]])
|url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1779716,00.html
|round = [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Quarter-finals|2024–25 UEFA Nations League QF]]
|first=Kevin
|team1 = {{fb-rt|ITA}}
|last=Buckley
|score =
|publisher=Guardian
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2043059/
|date=[[2006-05-21]]
|team2 = {{fb|GER}}
|accessdate=2006-07-25
|goals1 =
}}</ref>1994 World Cup star [[Roberto Donadoni]] was announced the new coach of the ''Azzurri'' on [[July 13]]. Italy is currently playing in the [[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B]], along with [[France national football team|France]].<ref>
|goals2 =
{{cite news
|stadium = [[San Siro]]
|title=Lippi resigns as Italy head coach
|location = [[Milan]], Italy
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5165406.stm
|attendance =
|publisher=BBC
|referee =
|date=[[2006-07-12]]
|result =
|accessdate=2006-07-25
}}
}}
{{football box collapsible
</ref> On [[February 14]], [[2007]], [[FIFA]] ranked Italy 1st in the [[FIFA World Rankings]], moving them up one from their previous rank, 2nd. The ''Azzurri'' had not received such an honour since 1993.<ref>
|format=1
{{cite news
|date = 23 March 2025
|title=Italy oust Brazil to take top spot
|time = 20:45 [[Central European Time|CET]] ([[UTC+01:00]])
|url=http://www.fifa.com/en/mens/statistics/index/0,2548,131847,00.html?articleid=131847
|round = [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Quarter-finals|2024–25 UEFA Nations League QF]]
|publisher=FIFA
|team1 = {{fb-rt|GER}}
|date=[[2006-02-14]]
|score =
|accessdate=2006-02-14
|report = https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/match/2043063/
|team2 = {{fb|ITA}}
|goals1 =
|goals2 =
|stadium = [[Westfalenstadion]]
|location = [[Dortmund]], Germany
|attendance =
|referee =
|result =
}}
}}
<!--
</ref>
{{football box collapsible|format=1
|date = 4–6 September 2025
|time = --:-- [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group ?|2026 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|team1 =
|score =
|report =
|team2 =
|goals1 =
|goals2 =
|stadium =
|location =
|attendance =
|referee =
|result =
}}
{{football box collapsible|format=1
|date = 7–9 September 2025
|time = --:-- [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group ?|2026 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|team1 =
|score =
|report =
|team2 =
|goals1 =
|goals2 =
|stadium =
|location =
|attendance =
|referee =
|result =
}}
{{football box collapsible|format=1
|date = 9–11 October 2025
|time = --:-- [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group ?|2026 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|team1 =
|score =
|report =
|team2 =
|goals1 =
|goals2 =
|stadium =
|location =
|attendance =
|referee =
|result =
}}
{{football box collapsible|format=1
|date = 12–14 October 2025
|time = --:-- [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00]])
|round = [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group ?|2026 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|team1 =
|score =
|report =
|team2 =
|goals1 =
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|referee =
|result =
}}
{{football box collapsible|format=1
|date = 13–15 November 2025
|time = --:-- [[Central European Time|CET]] ([[UTC+01:00]])
|round = [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group ?|2026 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|team1 =
|score =
|report =
|team2 =
|goals1 =
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|stadium =
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|attendance =
|referee =
|result =
}}
{{football box collapsible|format=1
|date = 16–18 November 2025
|time = --:-- [[Central European Time|CET]] ([[UTC+01:00]])
|round = [[2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group ?|2026 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|team1 =
|score =
|report =
|team2 =
|goals1 =
|goals2 =
|stadium =
|location =
|attendance =
|referee =
|result =
}}
-->


==Players==
==Tournament records==
{{Main|List of Italy international footballers}}
===World Cup record===

{| class="wikitable"
===Current squad===
The following players were called up for [[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Group 2|2024–25 UEFA Nations League]] matches against [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] and [[France national football team|France]] on 14 and 17 November 2024, respectively.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.figc.it/it/nazionali/news/al-via-il-raduno-out-ricci-arriva-locatelli-spalletti-ci-aspettano-due-partite-difficilissime-non-dobbiamo-essere-presuntuosi/|title=Al via il raduno: out Ricci, arriva Locatelli. Spalletti: “Ci aspettano due partite difficilissime, non dobbiamo essere presuntuosi”|language=it|publisher=[[Italian Football Federation]]|date=11 November 2024|access-date=11 November 2024}}</ref>

:''Information correct as of 17 November 2024, after the match against France.''

{{nat fs g start}}
{{nat fs g player|no=1|pos=GK|name=[[Gianluigi Donnarumma]]|other=[[Captain (association football)|captain]]|age={{birth date and age|1999|2|25|df=y}}|caps=70|goals=0|club=[[Paris Saint-Germain F.C.|Paris Saint-Germain]]|clubnat=FRA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=12|pos=GK|name=[[Alex Meret]]|age={{birth date and age|1997|3|22|df=y}}|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[SSC Napoli|Napoli]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=13|pos=GK|name=[[Guglielmo Vicario]]|age={{birth date and age|1996|10|7|df=y}}|caps=4|goals=0|club=[[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]|clubnat=ENG}}
{{nat fs break}}
{{nat fs g player|no=2|pos=DF|name=[[Nicolò Savona]]|age={{birth date and age|2003|3|19|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Juventus FC|Juventus]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=3|pos=DF|name=[[Federico Dimarco]]|age={{birth date and age|1997|11|10|df=y}}|caps=28|goals=3|club=[[Inter Milan]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=4|pos=DF|name=[[Alessandro Buongiorno]]|age={{birth date and age|1999|6|6|df=y}}|caps=9|goals=0|club=[[SSC Napoli|Napoli]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=6|pos=DF|name=[[Federico Gatti]]|age={{birth date and age|1998|6|24|df=y}}|caps=5|goals=0|club=[[Juventus FC|Juventus]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=15|pos=DF|name=[[Caleb Okoli]]|age={{birth date and age|2001|7|13|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Leicester City]]|clubnat=ENG}}
{{nat fs g player|no=17|pos=DF|name=[[Pietro Comuzzo]]|age={{birth date and age|2005|2|20|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=19|pos=DF|name=[[Destiny Udogie]]|age={{birth date and age|2002|11|28|df=y}}|caps=9|goals=0|club=[[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]|clubnat=ENG}}
{{nat fs g player|no=20|pos=DF|name=[[Andrea Cambiaso]]|age={{birth date and age|2000|2|20|df=y}}|caps=13|goals=2|club=[[Juventus FC|Juventus]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=21|pos=DF|name=[[Alessandro Bastoni]]|age={{birth date and age|1999|4|13|df=y}}|caps=33|goals=2|club=[[Inter Milan]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=22|pos=DF|name=[[Giovanni Di Lorenzo]]|age={{birth date and age|1993|8|4|df=y}}|caps=44|goals=5|club=[[SSC Napoli|Napoli]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs break}}
{{nat fs g player|no=5|pos=MF|name=[[Manuel Locatelli]]|age={{birth date and age|1998|1|8|df=y}}|caps=30|goals=3|club=[[Juventus FC|Juventus]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=8|pos=MF|name=[[Sandro Tonali]]|age={{birth date and age|2000|5|8|df=y}}|caps=21|goals=1|club=[[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]]|clubnat=ENG}}
{{nat fs g player|no=14|pos=MF|name=[[Nicolò Rovella]]|age={{birth date and age|2001|12|4|df=y}}|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[SS Lazio|Lazio]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=16|pos=MF|name=[[Davide Frattesi]]|age={{birth date and age|1999|9|22|df=y}}|caps=25|goals=8|club=[[Inter Milan]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=18|pos=MF|name=[[Nicolò Barella]]|age={{birth date and age|1997|2|7|df=y}}|caps=59|goals=10|club=[[Inter Milan]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=23|pos=MF|name=[[Niccolò Pisilli]]|age={{birth date and age|2004|9|23|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[AS Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs break}}
{{nat fs g player|no=7|pos=FW|name=[[Daniel Maldini]]|age={{birth date and age|2001|10|11|df=y}}|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[AC Monza|Monza]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=9|pos=FW|name=[[Mateo Retegui]]|age={{birth date and age|1999|4|29|df=y}}|caps=18|goals=6|club=[[Atalanta BC|Atalanta]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=10|pos=FW|name=[[Giacomo Raspadori]]|age={{birth date and age|2000|2|18|df=y}}|caps=36|goals=7|club=[[SSC Napoli|Napoli]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=11|pos=FW|name=[[Moise Kean]]|age={{birth date and age|2000|2|28|df=y}}|caps=19|goals=5|club=[[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs end}}

===Recent call-ups===
The following players have also been called up for the team within the last twelve months.

<!-- Sorted by position, most recent call-up, caps, goals. -->
{{nat fs r start}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=GK|name=[[Michele Di Gregorio]]|age={{birth date and age|1997|7|27|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Juventus FC|Juventus]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|ISR}}, 14 October 2024}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=GK|name=[[Ivan Provedel]]|age={{birth date and age|1994|3|17|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[SS Lazio|Lazio]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]] <sup>PRE</sup>}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=GK|name=[[Marco Carnesecchi]]|age={{birth date and age|2000|7|1|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[Atalanta BC|Atalanta]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|ECU}}, 24 March 2024}}
{{nat fs break}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Riccardo Calafiori]]|age={{birth date and age|2002|5|19|df=y}}|caps=8|goals=0|club=[[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]|clubnat=ENG|latest=v. {{fb|ISR}}, 14 October 2024}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Raoul Bellanova]]|age={{birth date and age|2000|5|17|df=y}}|caps=4|goals=0|club=[[Atalanta BC|Atalanta]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|ISR}}, 14 October 2024}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Matteo Gabbia]]|age={{birth date and age|1999|10|21|df=y}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[AC Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|ISR}}, 14 October 2024}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Matteo Darmian]]|age={{birth date and age|1989|12|2|df=y}}|caps=46|goals=2|club=[[Inter Milan]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]]}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Gianluca Mancini]]|age={{birth date and age|1996|4|17|df=y}}|caps=14|goals=0|club=[[AS Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]]}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Francesco Acerbi]]|age={{birth date and age|1988|2|10|df=y}}|caps=34|goals=1|club=[[Inter Milan]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]] <sup>PRE / INJ</sup>}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Giorgio Scalvini]]|age={{birth date and age|2003|12|11|df=y}}|caps=8|goals=0|club=[[Atalanta BC|Atalanta]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]] <sup>PRE / INJ</sup>}}
{{nat fs break}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Samuele Ricci]]|age={{birth date and age|2001|8|21|df=y}}|caps=6|goals=0|club=[[Torino FC|Torino]]|clubnat=ITA|latest={{nowrap|v. {{fb|BEL}}, 14 November 2024 <sup>INJ</sup>}}}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Nicolò Fagioli]]|age={{nowrap|{{birth date and age|2001|2|12|df=y}}}}|caps=7|goals=0|club=[[Juventus FC|Juventus]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|ISR}}, 14 October 2024}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Lorenzo Pellegrini]]|age={{birth date and age|1996|6|19|df=y}}|caps=36|goals=6|club=[[AS Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|BEL}}, 10 October 2024 <sup>SUS</sup>}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Marco Brescianini]]|age={{birth date and age|2000|1|20|df=y}}|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[Atalanta BC|Atalanta]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|ISR}}, 9 September 2024}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Jorginho (footballer, born December 1991)|Jorginho]]|age={{birth date and age|1991|12|20|df=y}}|caps=57|goals=5|club=[[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]|clubnat=ENG|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]]}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Bryan Cristante]]|age={{birth date and age|1995|3|3|df=y}}|caps=43|goals=2|club=[[AS Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]]}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Michael Folorunsho]]|age={{birth date and age|1998|2|7|df=y}}|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[SSC Napoli|Napoli]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]]}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Giacomo Bonaventura]]|age={{birth date and age|1989|8|22|df=y}}|caps=18|goals=1|club=[[Al Shabab FC (Riyadh)|Al-Shabab]]|clubnat=KSA|latest=v. {{fb|ECU}}, 24 March 2024}}
{{nat fs break}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Nicolò Zaniolo]]|age={{birth date and age|1999|7|2|df=y}}|caps=19|goals=2|club=[[Atalanta BC|Atalanta]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|ISR}}, 14 October 2024}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Lorenzo Lucca]]|age={{birth date and age|2000|9|10|df=y}}|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|ISR}}, 14 October 2024}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Mattia Zaccagni]]|age={{birth date and age|1995|6|16|df=y}}|caps=9|goals=1|club=[[SS Lazio|Lazio]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=v. {{fb|ISR}}, 9 September 2024}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Federico Chiesa]]|age={{birth date and age|1997|10|25|df=y}}|caps=51|goals=7|club=[[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]|clubnat=ENG|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]]}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Stephan El Shaarawy]]|age={{birth date and age|1992|10|27|df=y}}|caps=32|goals=7|club=[[AS Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]]}}
{{nat fs r player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Gianluca Scamacca]]|age={{birth date and age|1999|1|1|df=y}}|caps=20|goals=1|club=[[Atalanta BC|Atalanta]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]]}}
{{nat fs r player|no=17|pos=FW|name=[[Riccardo Orsolini]]|age={{birth date and age|1997|1|24|df=y}}|caps=7|goals=2|club=[[Bologna FC 1909|Bologna]]|clubnat=ITA|latest=[[UEFA Euro 2024]] <sup>PRE</sup>}}
{{nat fs break}}
*<sup>INJ</sup> <span style="font-size:90%">Withdrew due to injury</span>
*<sup>PRE</sup> <span style="font-size:90%">Preliminary squad</span>
*<sup>SUS</sup> <span style="font-size:90%">Suspended</span>
{{nat fs end}}

===Previous squads===
{{Main|List of Italy national football team World Cup and European Championship squads}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
;FIFA World Cup
* '''[[1934 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1934 FIFA World Cup squad]]'''
* '''[[1938 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1938 FIFA World Cup squad]]'''
* [[1950 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1950 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[1954 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1954 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[1962 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1962 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[1966 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1966 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[1970 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1970 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[1974 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1974 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[1978 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1978 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* '''[[1982 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1982 FIFA World Cup squad]]'''
* [[1986 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1986 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[1990 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1990 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[1994 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1994 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[1998 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1998 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[2002 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|2002 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* '''[[2006 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|2006 FIFA World Cup squad]]'''
* [[2010 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|2010 FIFA World Cup squad]]
* [[2014 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|2014 FIFA World Cup squad]]
{{col-3}}
;UEFA European Championship
* '''[[UEFA Euro 1968 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 1968 squad]]'''
* [[UEFA Euro 1980 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 1980 squad]]
* [[UEFA Euro 1988 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 1988 squad]]
* [[UEFA Euro 1996 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 1996 squad]]
* [[UEFA Euro 2000 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 2000 squad]]
* [[UEFA Euro 2004 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 2004 squad]]
* [[UEFA Euro 2008 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 2008 squad]]
* [[UEFA Euro 2012 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 2012 squad]]
* [[UEFA Euro 2016 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 2016 squad]]
* '''[[UEFA Euro 2020 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 2020 squad]]'''
* [[UEFA Euro 2024 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 2024 squad]]
{{col-3}}
;FIFA Confederations Cup
* [[2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squads#Italy|2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squad]]
* [[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup squads#Italy|2013 FIFA Confederations Cup squad]]
;UEFA Nations League Finals
* [[2021 UEFA Nations League Finals squads#Italy|2021 UEFA Nations League Finals squad]]
* [[2023 UEFA Nations League Finals squads#Italy|2023 UEFA Nations League Finals squad]]
;Finalissima
* [[2022 Finalissima#Italy|2022 Finalissima squad]]
{{col-end}}

==Individual records==
{{Main|Italy national football team records and statistics|List of Italy international footballers}}

===Player records===
:{{Updated|14 October 2024}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.figc.it/it/nazionali/nazionali-in-cifre/nic/ | title=NIC | date=27 September 2023 }}</ref><ref name="rsssf">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-recintlp.html#app|title=Italy&nbsp;– Record International Players: Appearances for Italy National Team|publisher=RSSSF|author1=Roberto Di Maggio|author2=José Luis Pierrend|date=8 April 2016|access-date=3 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061341/http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-recintlp.html#app|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Most appearances====
[[File:Gianluigi Buffon (2014).jpg|upright=1|thumb|Gianluigi Buffon is the most capped player in the history of Italy with 176 caps.]]

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|-
!width=20px|Rank
!Year !! Finish !! Matches !! Wins !! Draws* !! Losses !! Goals Scored !! Goals Against
! style="width:150px;"|Player
!width=50px|Caps
!width=50px|Goals
! style="width:100px;"|Period
|-
|-
| 1
|[[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]]
| style="text-align: left;"|[[Gianluigi Buffon]]
| ''Did not enter'' || || || || || ||
| '''176'''
| 0
| {{nowrap|1997–2018}}
|-
|-
| 2
|[[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]]
| style="text-align: left;"|[[Fabio Cannavaro]]
| '''Champions''' || 5 || 4 || 1 || 0 || 12 || 3
| '''136'''
| 2
| 1997–2010
|-
|-
| 3
||[[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]]
| style="text-align: left;"|[[Paolo Maldini]]
| '''Champions''' || 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 11 || 5
| '''126'''
| 7
| 1988–2002
|-
|-
| 4
|[[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]
| style="text-align: left;"|[[Leonardo Bonucci]]
| Round 1 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 3
| '''121'''
| 8
| 2010–2023
|-
|-
| rowspan="2"|5
|[[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]]
| style="text-align: left;"|[[Daniele De Rossi]]
| Round 1 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 6 || 7
| '''117'''
| 21
| 2004–2017
|-
|-
| style="text-align: left;"|[[Giorgio Chiellini]]
|[[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]]
| '''117'''
| ''Did not qualify'' || || || || || ||
| 8
| 2004–2022
|-
|-
| 7
|[[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]]
| style="text-align: left|[[Andrea Pirlo]]
| Round 1 || 3 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 2
| '''116'''
| 13
| 2002–2015
|-
|-
| 8
|[[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966]]
| style="text-align: left;"|[[Dino Zoff]]
| Round 1 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 2
| '''112'''
| 0
| 1968–1983
|-
|-
| 9
|[[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]]
| style="text-align: left;"|[[Gianluca Zambrotta]]
| '''Runners up''' || 6 || 3 || 2 || 1 || 10 || 8
| '''100'''
| 2
| 1999–2010
|-
|-
| 10
|[[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]]
| style="text-align: left|[[Giacinto Facchetti]]
| Round 1 || 3 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 5 || 4
| '''94'''
| 3
| 1963–1977
|}

====Top goalscorers====
[[File:Gigi Riva, Italia, 1968 (cropped).JPG|upright=1|thumb|Luigi Riva is the top scorer in the history of Italy with [[List of international goals scored by Gigi Riva|35 goals]].]]

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!width=15px|Rank
! style="width:125px;"|Player
!width=25px|Goals
!width=25px|Caps
!width=25px|Ratio
!width=80px|Period
|-
| 1
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Gigi Riva|Luigi Riva]] <small>([[List of international goals scored by Gigi Riva|list]])</small>
| '''35'''
| 42
|{{#expr: 35/42 round 2}}
| {{nowrap|1965–1974}}
|-
|-
| 2
|[[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]]
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Giuseppe Meazza]]
| '''Fourth place''' || 7 || 4 || 1 || 2 || 9 || 6
| '''33'''
| 53
| {{#expr: 33/53 round 2}}
| 1930–1939
|-
|-
| 3
|[[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]]
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Silvio Piola]]
| '''Champions''' || 7 || 4 || 3 || 0 || 12 || 6
| '''30'''
| 34
| {{#expr: 30/34 round 2}}
| 1935–1952
|-
|-
| rowspan="2"|4
|[[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]]
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Roberto Baggio]]
| Round of 16 || 4 || 1 || 2 || 1 || 5 || 6
|rowspan="2"|'''27'''
| 56
| {{#expr: 27/56 round 2}}
| 1988–2004
|-
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Alessandro Del Piero]]
|[[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]]
| 91
| '''Third place''' || 7 || 6 || 1 || 0 || 10 || 2
| {{#expr: 27/91 round 2}}
| 1995–2008
|-
|-
| rowspan="3"|6
|[[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]]
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Adolfo Baloncieri]]
| '''Runners up''' || 7 || 4 || 2 || 1 || 8 || 5
|rowspan="3"|'''25'''
| 47
| {{#expr: 25/47 round 2}}
| 1920–1930
|-
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Filippo Inzaghi]]
|[[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]]
| 57
| Quarterfinals || 5 || 3 || 2 || 0 || 8 || 3
| {{#expr: 25/57 round 2}}
| 1997–2007
|-
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Alessandro Altobelli]]
|[[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]]
| 61
| Round of 16 || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 5 || 5
| {{#expr: 25/61 round 2}}
| 1980–1988
|-
|-
| rowspan="2"|9
|[[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Christian Vieri]]
| '''Champions''' || 7 || 5 || 2 || 0 || 12 || 2
|rowspan="2"|'''23'''
| 49
| {{#expr: 23/49 round 2}}
| 1997–2005
|-
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Francesco Graziani]]
|'''Total'''||16/18 || '''77''' || '''44''' || '''19''' || '''14''' || '''122''' || '''69'''
| 64
| {{#expr: 23/64 round 2}}
| 1975–1983
|}
|}
Draws include knockout matches decided on [[penalty shootout (football)|penalty kicks]].


====Captains====
===European Championship record===
{{Main|List of Italy national football team captains}}
*[[1960 UEFA European Football Championship|1960]] &mdash; ''Did not enter''
List of [[Captain (sports)|captaincy]] periods of the various captains throughout the years.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.figc.it/nazionali/Capitani?squadra=1&mode=|title=Capitani|trans-title=Captains|website=FIGC.it|publisher=[[Italian Football Federation|FIGC]]|language=it|access-date=2 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503080300/http://www.figc.it/nazionali/Capitani?squadra=1&mode=|archive-date=3 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[1964 UEFA European Football Championship|1964]] &mdash; ''Did not qualify''
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[1968 UEFA European Football Championship|1968]] &mdash; '''Champions'''
* 1910: [[Francesco Calì]]
*[[1972 UEFA European Football Championship|1972]] &mdash; ''Did not qualify''
* 1911–1914: [[Giuseppe Milano]]
*[[1976 UEFA European Football Championship|1976]] &mdash; ''Did not qualify''
* 1914–1915: [[Virgilio Fossati]]
*[[1980 UEFA European Football Championship|1980]] &mdash; ''Round 1
* 1920–1925: [[Renzo De Vecchi]]
*[[1984 UEFA European Football Championship|1984]] &mdash; ''Did not qualify''
* 1925–1927: [[Luigi Cevenini]]
*[[1988 UEFA European Football Championship|1988]] &mdash; Semifinals
* 1927–1930: [[Adolfo Baloncieri]]
*[[1992 UEFA European Football Championship|1992]] &mdash; ''Did not qualify''
* 1931–1934: [[Umberto Caligaris]]
*[[1996 UEFA European Football Championship|1996]] &mdash; Round 1
* 1934: [[Gianpiero Combi]]
*[[2000 UEFA European Football Championship|2000]] &mdash; '''Runners-up'''
* 1935–1936: [[Luigi Allemandi]]
*[[2004 UEFA European Football Championship|2004]] &mdash; Round 1
* 1937–1939: [[Giuseppe Meazza]]
*[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship|2008]] &mdash; ([[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Qualifying Round in progress]])
* 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]]{{#tag:ref|During [[UEFA Euro 2008 squads#Italy|UEFA Euro 2008]], [[Alessandro Del Piero]] was named the Italy national team acting captain, as Cannavaro was injured and unable to take part in the competition, however [[Gianluigi Buffon]] was often played as captain as Del Piero was frequently deployed as a substitute.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Europei/2008/Primo_Piano/2008/06_Giugno/02/cannavaro.shtml|title=Italia, è già dopo Cannavaro Arriva Gamberini, chi gioca?|publisher={{Lang|it|La Gazzetta dello Sport}}|language=it|author1=Gaetano DeStefano|date=2 June 2008|access-date=22 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084614/http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Europei/2008/Primo_Piano/2008/06_Giugno/02/cannavaro.shtml|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Europei/2008/Primo_Piano/2008/06_Giugno/12/delpierocapitano.shtml|title=Buffon, niente fascia Il capitano è Del Piero|publisher={{Lang|it|La Gazzetta dello Sport}}|language=it|author1=Maurizio Nicita|date=12 June 2008|access-date=22 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304131356/http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Europei/2008/Primo_Piano/2008/06_Giugno/12/delpierocapitano.shtml|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=buffonsecondcaptain>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://it.uefa.com/news/newsid=710770.html|title=L'Italia parte male, l'Olanda cala il tris|trans-title=Italy start badly, Holland score three|publisher=UEFA|language=it|author1=Paolo Menicucci|date=10 June 2008|access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref>|name="delpiero-buffon-captain-euro2008"|group="nb"}}
* 2010–2018: [[Gianluigi Buffon]]{{#tag:ref|Gianluigi Buffon served as second acting captain in [[UEFA Euro 2008]] after [[Alessandro Del Piero]] was named the team's acting captain, as Cannavaro was injured and unable to take part in the competition, however Del Piero was frequently deployed as a substitute.<ref name=buffonsecondcaptain/> Although Buffon was officially named Italy's new captain in 2010,<ref name="Buffon, annuncio choc: Mi opero e torno nel 2011">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.corrieredellosport.it/calcio/mondiali_2010/girone_f/italia/2010/06/27-118051/Buffon,+annuncio+choc%3A+%C2%ABMi+opero+e+torno+nel+2011%C2%BB|title=Buffon, annuncio choc: Mi opero e torno nel 2011|publisher=Il Corriere dello Sport|language=it|author1=Andrea Santoni|date=27 June 2010|access-date=23 July 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123193230/http://www.corrieredellosport.it/calcio/mondiali_2010/girone_f/italia/2010/06/27-118051/Buffon,+annuncio+choc%3A+%C2%ABMi+opero+e+torno+nel+2011%C2%BB|archive-date=23 January 2017}}</ref> following Fabio Cannavaro's retirement subsequent to the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]], [[Andrea Pirlo]] was named the Italy national team's acting captain after the tournament (while [[Daniele De Rossi]] was named the team's second acting captain),<ref name="Buffon, annuncio choc: Mi opero e torno nel 2011"/><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazionale/06-08-2010/italia-prandelli-71695182025.shtml|title=Prandelli cambia l'Italia Amauri, Cassano e Balotelli|publisher={{Lang|it|La Gazzetta dello Sport}}|language=it|author1=Riccardo Pratesi|date=6 August 2010|access-date=23 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829014409/http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazionale/06-08-2010/italia-prandelli-71695182025.shtml|archive-date=29 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazionale/01-09-2010/pirlo-ricetta-nazionale-71989427896.shtml|title=Pirlo, ricetta Nazionale "Ritroviamo la qualità"|publisher={{Lang|it|La Gazzetta dello Sport}}|language=it|date=1 September 2010|access-date=23 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829042316/http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazionale/01-09-2010/pirlo-ricetta-nazionale-71989427896.shtml|archive-date=29 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> as Buffon was ruled out until the end of the year due to injury, and only made his first appearance as Italy's official captain on 9 February 2011, in a 1–1 friendly away draw against [[Germany national football team|Germany]].<ref name="Buffon, annuncio choc: Mi opero e torno nel 2011"/><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.figc.it/en/204/27174/2011/02/News.shtml|title=Motta, Giovinco and Matri news. Among the 23 players Buffon's return|publisher=FIGC|date=6 February 2011|access-date=23 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211025215/http://www.figc.it/en/204/27174/2011/02/News.shtml|archive-date=11 February 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/calcio/calcio_la_nazionale/articoli/52973/il-gol-di-rossi-salva-l-italia-1-1.shtml|title=Il gol di Rossi salva l'Italia: 1–1|publisher=Mediaset|language=it|date=10 February 2011|access-date=23 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812141248/http://www.sportmediaset.mediaset.it/calcio/calcio_la_nazionale/articoli/52973/il-gol-di-rossi-salva-l-italia-1-1.shtml|archive-date=12 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Capitani">{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.tuttonazionali.com/news/capitani-azzurri-gianluigi-buffon-2008-oggi-2214|title=Capitani Azzurri: Gianluigi Buffon (2008&nbsp;– Oggi)|publisher=TuttoNazionali.com|language=it|author1=Micaela Del Monte|date=29 March 2012|access-date=23 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817000622/http://www.tuttonazionali.com/news/capitani-azzurri-gianluigi-buffon-2008-oggi-2214|archive-date=17 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>|name="buffon-pirlo-italy-captain"|group="nb"}}
* 2018–2022: [[Giorgio Chiellini]]
* 2022–2023: [[Leonardo Bonucci]]
* 2023: [[Ciro Immobile]]<ref name="captain">{{cite web|url=https://www.goal.com/it/liste/spalletti-conferma-immobile-capitano-dell-italia-fino-agli-europei/bltd0fca3f1605c475f|title=Spalletti conferma: "Immobile capitano dell'Italia fino agli Europei"|date=6 September 2023|language=it}}</ref>
* 2024–''present'': [[Gianluigi Donnarumma]]<ref name="capt-donnarumma">{{cite news |url=https://football-italia.net/italy-euro-2024-five-talking-points-spalletti/ |title=Italy Euro 2024: Five talking points from Spalletti's first press conference |work=Football Italia |first=Lorenzo |last=Bettoni |date=31 May 2024 |access-date=31 May 2024}}</ref>
{{div col end}}


===Honours===
====Hat-tricks====
{{Main|List of Italy national football team hat-tricks}}
:''This is a list of honours for all of the senior Italian national teams, including Olympic and Military teams''
*{{Sport honours|[[FIFA World Cup]]|4|[[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]], [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]|}}
*{{Sport honours|[[UEFA European Football Championship|European Championship]]|1|[[1968 UEFA European Football Championship|1968]]}}
*{{Sport honours|[[Football at the Summer Olympics]] Gold medal|1|[[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936]]}}
*{{Sport honours|[[Central European International Cup|Central European Champions]]| 2 |1927-30, 1933-35}}
*{{Sport honours|[[World Military Cup]] | 8 |1950, 1951, 1956, 1959, 1973, 1987, 1989, 1991}}


===Manager records===
==Coaches==
{{Main|List of Italy national football team managers|Italy national football team records and statistics}}
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. Since 1967, the national team has been controlled only by coaches.
; Most manager appearances
: [[Enzo Bearzot]]: 104<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||url=http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-coach-triv.html|title=Italian national team coaches|publisher=rsssf.com|editor=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|access-date=25 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417030223/http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-coach-triv.html|archive-date=17 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Team records==
For this reason, the coach of the Italian national team is still called ''Technical Commissioner'' (''Commissario tecnico'' o ''CT'').
{{Main|Italy national football team records and statistics}}
*Technical Commission (1910&ndash;1912)
*[[Vittorio Pozzo]] (1912)
*Technical Commission (1912&ndash;1924)
*[[Vittorio Pozzo]] (1924)
*Technical Commission (1924&ndash;1925)
*Augusto Rangone (1925&ndash;1928)
*Carlo Carcano (1928&ndash;1929)
*[[Vittorio Pozzo]] (1929&ndash;1948) &mdash; '''World Champions 1934, World Champions 1938'''
*[[Ferruccio Novo]] (1949&ndash;1950) &mdash; as ''Technical Commission Chairman''
*Technical Commission (1951)
*Carlino Beretta (1952&ndash;1953)
*Technical Commission (1953&ndash;1959)
*[[Giuseppe Viani]] (1960)
*[[Giovanni Ferrari]] (1960&ndash;1961)
*Technical Commission (1962)
*[[Edmondo Fabbri]] (1962&ndash;1966)
*Technical Commission (1966&ndash;1967)
*[[Ferruccio Valcareggi]] (1967&ndash;1974) &mdash; '''European Champions 1968''', ''Runners-Up World Cup 1970''
*[[Fulvio Bernardini]] (1974&ndash;1975)
*[[Enzo Bearzot]] (1975&ndash;1986) &mdash; '''World Champions 1982'''
*[[Azeglio Vicini]] (1986&ndash;1991) &mdash; ''3rd Place World Cup 1990''
*[[Arrigo Sacchi]] (1991&ndash;1996) &mdash; ''Runners-Up World Cup 1994''
*[[Cesare Maldini]] (1997&ndash;1998)
*[[Dino Zoff]] (1998&ndash;2000) &mdash; ''Runners-Up European Championships 2000''
*[[Giovanni Trapattoni]] (2000&ndash;2004)
*[[Marcello Lippi]] (2004&ndash;2006) &mdash; '''World Champions 2006'''
*[[Roberto Donadoni]] (2006-current)


; Largest victory
==Players==
: 9–0 vs. '''[[United States men's national soccer team|United States]]''', 2 August 1948
===Current squad===
; Largest defeat
The following players named for [[2008 UEFA European Football Championship|Euro 2008]] qualifier against the [[Faroe Islands national football team|Faroe Islands]] on [[June 2]], [[2007]] and [[Lithuania national football team|Lithuania]] on [[June 6]], [[2007]] <sup>[http://www.uefa.com/competitions/euro/news/kind=1/newsid=544127.html]</sup>.
: 1–7 vs. '''[[Hungary national football team|Hungary]]''', 6 April 1924


==Competitive record==
Caps and goals as of [[28 March]], [[2007]], included against [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]].
{{for|the all-time record|Italy national football team all-time record}}
{{nat fs g start}}
{{nat fs g player|no=1|pos=GK|name=[[Gianluigi Buffon]]|age=[[28 January]] [[1978]]|caps=73|goals=0|club=[[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=2|pos=DF|name=[[Alessandro Gamberini]]|age=[[27 August]] [[1981]]|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=3|pos=DF|name=[[Max Tonetto]]|age=[[18 November]] [[1974]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[AS Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=4|pos=MF|name=[[Massimo Ambrosini]]|age=[[29 May]] [[1977]]|caps=23|goals=0|club=[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=5|pos=DF|name=[[Fabio Cannavaro]] ([[captain (football)|c]])|age=[[13 September]] [[1973]]|caps=106|goals=1|club=[[Real Madrid]]|clubnat=Spain}}
{{nat fs g player|no=6|pos=DF|name=[[Andrea Barzagli]]|age=[[8 May]] [[1981]]|caps=13|goals=0|club=[[U.S. Città di Palermo|Palermo]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=7|pos=FW|name=[[Alessandro Del Piero]]|age=[[9 November]] [[1974]]|caps=81|goals=27|club=[[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=8|pos=MF|name=[[Gennaro Gattuso]]|age=[[9 January]] [[1978]]|caps=51|goals=1|club=[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=9|pos=FW|name=[[Filippo Inzaghi]]|age=[[9 August]] [[1973]]|caps=54|goals=25|club=[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=10|pos=MF|name=[[Daniele De Rossi]]|age=[[24 July]] [[1983]]|caps=26|goals=4|club=[[A.S. Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=11|pos=FW|name=[[Tommaso Rocchi]]|age=[[19 September]] [[1977]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[S.S. Lazio|Lazio]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=12|pos=GK|name=[[Christian Abbiati]]|age=[[8 July]] [[1977]]|caps=4|goals=0|club=[[Atlético Madrid|Atlético]]|clubnat=Spain}}
{{nat fs g player|no=13|pos=DF|name=[[Manuel Pasqual]]|age=[[13 March]] [[1982]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=14|pos=GK|name=[[Marco Amelia]]|age=[[2 April]] [[1982]]|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[A.S. Livorno Calcio|Livorno]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=16|pos=MF|name=[[Aimo Diana]]|age=[[2 January]] [[1978]]|caps=12|goals=0|club=[[U.S. Città di Palermo|Palermo]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=17|pos=FW|name=[[Antonio Di Natale]]|age=[[13 October]] [[1977]]|caps=9|goals=2|club=[[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=18|pos=FW|name=[[Cristiano Lucarelli]]|age=[[4 October]] [[1975]]|caps=3|goals=1|club=[[A.S. Livorno Calcio|Livorno]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=19|pos=DF|name=[[Gianluca Zambrotta]]|age=[[19 February]] [[1977]]|caps=63|goals=2|club=[[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]]|clubnat=Spain}}
{{nat fs g player|no=20|pos=MF|name=[[Simone Perrotta]]|age=[[17 September]] [[1977]]|caps=35|goals=2|club=[[A.S. Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=21|pos=MF|name=[[Andrea Pirlo]]|age=[[19 May]] [[1979]]|caps=36|goals=5|club=[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=22|pos=DF|name=[[Massimo Oddo]]|age=[[14 June]] [[1976]]|caps=26|goals=1|club=[[AC Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=23|pos=DF|name=[[Marco Materazzi]]|age=[[19 August]] [[1973]]|caps=36|goals=2|club=[[Internazionale Milano F.C.|Internazionale]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs g player|no=27|pos=FW|name=[[Fabio Quagliarella]]|age=[[31 October]] [[1983]]|caps=1|goals=2|club=[[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]]|clubnat=Italy}}
{{nat fs end}}


{{Color box|gold|border=darkgray}} '''Champions'''&nbsp;&nbsp;{{Color box|silver|border=darkgray}} '''Runners-up'''&nbsp;&nbsp;{{Color box|#cc9966|border=darkgray}} '''Third place'''&nbsp;&nbsp;{{legend-inline|white|border=3px solid red;}} Hosts
===Recent call-up===
The following players have all recently been called up to the Italy squad. Bracket shows last call-up time.
{{nat fs g start}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=GK|name=[[Morgan de Sanctis]]|age=[[26 March]] [[1977]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]], [[28 March]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=GK|name=[[Flavio Roma]]|age=[[21 June]] [[1974]]|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[AS Monaco FC|Monaco]]|clubnat=France|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Daniele Bonera]]|age=[[31 May]] [[1981]]|caps=11|goals=0|club=[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]], [[28 March]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Alessandro Nesta]]|age=[[19 March]] [[1976]]|caps=78|goals=0|club=[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Georgia national football team|Georgia]], [[11 October]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Fabio Grosso]]|age=[[28 November]] [[1977]]|caps=25|goals=2|club=[[Internazionale Milano F.C.|Internazionale]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Georgia national football team|Georgia]], [[11 October]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Cristian Zaccardo]]|age=[[21 December]] [[1981]]|caps=16|goals=1|club=[[U.S. Città di Palermo|Palermo]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]], [[15 November]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Dario Dainelli]]|age=[[9 June]] [[1979]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[France national football team|France]], [[6 September]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Giorgio Chiellini]]|age=[[14 August]] [[1984]]|caps=6|goals=0|club=[[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Luciano Zauri]]|age=[[20 January]] [[1978]]|caps=5|goals=0|club=[[S.S. Lazio|Lazio]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Cristian Zenoni]]|age=[[23 April]] [[1977]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Giulio Falcone]]|age=[[31 May]] [[1974]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=DF|name=[[Christian Terlizzi]]|age=[[22 November]] [[1979]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Mauro Camoranesi]]||age=[[4 October]] [[1976]]|caps=30|goals=2|club=[[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]], [[28 March]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Stefano Mauri]]|age=[[8 January]] [[1980]]|caps=4|goals=0|club=[[S.S. Lazio|Lazio]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]], [[28 March]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Franco Semioli]]|age=[[20 June]] [[1980]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[A.C. ChievoVerona|Chievo]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]], [[28 March]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Alberto Aquilani]]|age=[[7 July]] [[1984]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[A.S. Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]], [[15 November]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Gennaro Delvecchio]]|age=[[25 March]] [[1978]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Georgia national football team|Georgia]], [[11 October]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Marco Marchionni]]|age=[[22 July]] [[1980]]|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[France national football team|France]], [[6 September]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Cristian Brocchi]]|age=[[30 January]] [[1976]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]], [[15 November]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Angelo Palombo]]|age=[[25 September]] [[1981]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]], [[15 November]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Simone Barone]]|age=[[30 April]] [[1978]]|caps=16|goals=1|club=[[Torino F.C.|Torino]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]], [[15 November]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Fabio Liverani]]|age=[[29 April]] [[1976]]|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Massimo Gobbi]]|age=[[31 January]] [[1980]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=MF|name=[[Stefano Morrone]]|age=[[26 October]] [[1978]]|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[A.S. Livorno Calcio|Livorno]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Luca Toni]]|age=[[26 May]] [[1977]]|caps=27|goals=12|club=[[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]]|clubnat=Germany|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]], [[28 March]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Alberto Gilardino]]|age=[[5 July]] [[1982]]|caps=23|goals=9|club=[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]], [[28 March]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Vincenzo Iaquinta]]|age=[[21 November]] [[1979]]|caps=19|goals=1|club=[[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]], [[15 November]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Emiliano Bonazzoli]]|age=[[20 January]] [[1979]]|caps=1|goals=0|club=[[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]], [[15 November]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[David Di Michele]]|age=[[6 January]] [[1976]]|caps=6|goals=0|club=[[U.S. Città di Palermo|Palermo]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[Georgia national football team|Georgia]], [[11 October]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Antonio Cassano]]|age=[[12 July]] [[1982]]|caps=10|goals=3|club=[[Real Madrid]]|clubnat=Spain|other=<small>[[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qual.]] v. [[France national football team|France]], [[6 September]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Mauro Esposito]]|age=[[13 June]] [[1979]]|caps=6|goals=0|club=[[A.S. Roma|Roma]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs g player|no=|pos=FW|name=[[Andrea Caracciolo]]|age=[[18 September]] [[1981]]|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]]|clubnat=Italy|other=<small>friendly v. [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]], [[16 August]]</small>}}
{{nat fs end}}


===Previous squads===
===FIFA World Cup===
*[[2006 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|2006 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
{{Main|Italy at the FIFA World Cup}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
*[[2004 UEFA European Football Championship squads#Italy|2004 UEFA European Football Championship squads - Italy]]
*[[2002 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|2002 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[2000 UEFA European Football Championship squads#Italy|2000 UEFA European Football Championship squads - Italy]]
*[[1998 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1998 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1996 UEFA European Football Championship squads#Italy|1996 UEFA European Football Championship squads - Italy]]
*[[1994 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1994 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1990 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1990 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1988 UEFA European Football Championship squads#Italy|1988 UEFA European Football Championship squads - Italy]]
*[[1986 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1986 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1982 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1982 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1980 UEFA European Football Championship squads#Italy|1980 UEFA European Football Championship squads - Italy]]
*[[1978 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1978 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1974 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1974 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1970 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1970 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1968 UEFA European Football Championship squads#Italy|1968 UEFA European Football Championship squads - Italy]]
*[[1966 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1966 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1962 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1962 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1954 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1954 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1950 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1950 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1938 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1938 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]
*[[1934 FIFA World Cup squads#Italy|1934 FIFA World Cup squads - Italy]]

===Notable players===
<!--this should be ordered by year of debut, see [[WP:WikiProject Football/National teams]]-->
:''Players are ordered by year of debut with national football team
{|
|valign="top"|
;1915
*[[Luigi Cevenini]] (MF)
;1920
*[[Virginio Rosetta]] (MF)
;1924
*[[Giampiero Combi]] (GK)
*[[Felice Levratto]] (FW)
;1926
*[[Attilio Ferraris]] (MF)
;1929
*[[Raimundo Orsi]] (FW)
;1930
*[[Giovanni Ferrari]] (MF)
*[[Giuseppe Meazza]] (FW)
;1932
*[[Luis Monti]] (MF)
;1935
*[[Silvio Piola]] (FW)
;1938
*[[Amedeo Biavati]] (FW)
;1942
*[[Valentino Mazzola]] (MF)
;1947
*[[Giampiero Boniperti]] (FW)
;1949
*[[Amedeo Amadei]] (FW)
;1961
*[[Enrico Albertosi]] (GK)
*[[Mario Corso]] (MF)
;1962
*[[Gianni Rivera]] (MF)
;1963
*[[Giacinto Facchetti]] (DF)
*[[Sandro Mazzola]] (FW)
;1964
*[[Armando Picchi]] (DF)
;1965
*[[Luigi Riva]] (FW)
;1967
*[[Roberto Boninsegna]] (FW)
|width="50"|&nbsp;
|valign="top"|
;1968
*[[Dino Zoff]] (GK)
;1971
*[[Romeo Benetti]] (MF)
*[[Claudio Sala]] (MF)
;1972
*[[Fabio Capello]] (MF)
*[[Franco Causio]] (MF)
*[[Giorgio Chinaglia]] (FW)
;1973
*[[Paolo Pulici]] (FW)
;1974
*[[Giancarlo Antognoni]] (MF)
;1975
*[[Roberto Bettega]] (FW)
*[[Claudio Gentile]] (DF)
*[[Francesco Graziani]] (FW)
*[[Gaetano Scirea]] (DF)
;1976
*[[Marco Tardelli]] (MF)
;1977
*[[Paolo Rossi]] (FW)
;1978
*[[Antonio Cabrini]] (DF)
*[[Gabriele Oriali]] (MF)
;1979
*[[Fulvio Collovati]] (DF)
;1980
*[[Alessandro Altobelli]] (FW)
*[[Bruno Conti]] (MF)
;1982
*[[Franco Baresi]] (DF)
*[[Giuseppe Bergomi]] (DF)
;1986
*[[Roberto Donadoni]] (MF)
;1984
*[[Roberto Mancini]] (FW)
;1985
*[[Gianluca Vialli]] (FW)
;1986
*[[Walter Zenga]] (GK)
|width="50"|&nbsp;
|valign="top"|
;1988
*[[Roberto Baggio]] (MF)
*[[Paolo Maldini]] (DF)
;1990
*[[Salvatore Schillaci]] (FW)
;1991
*[[Demetrio Albertini]] (MF)
*[[Dino Baggio]] (MF)
*[[Alessandro Costacurta]] (DF)
*[[Alberigo Evani]] (MF)
*[[Gianluca Pagliuca]] (GK)
*[[Gianfranco Zola]] (MF)
;1992
*[[Giuseppe Signori]] (FW)
;1995
*[[Angelo Peruzzi]] (GK)
*[[Fabrizio Ravanelli]] (FW)
*[[Francesco Toldo]] (GK)
*[[Alessandro Del Piero]] (FW)
;1996
*[[Alessandro Nesta]] (DF)
;1997
*[[Gianluigi Buffon]] (GK)
*[[Fabio Cannavaro]] (DF)
*[[Filippo Inzaghi]] (FW)
*[[Christian Vieri]] (FW)
;1999
*[[Gianluca Zambrotta]] (DF)
;2000
*[[Gennaro Gattuso]] (MF)
*[[Francesco Totti]] (FW)
;2001
*[[Marco Materazzi]] (DF)
;2002
*[[Simone Perrotta]] (MF)
*[[Andrea Pirlo]] (MF)
;2003
*[[Mauro Camoranesi]] (MF)
*[[Fabio Grosso]] (DF)
;2004
*[[Daniele De Rossi]] (MF)
*[[Luca Toni]] (FW)
|}

===Most capped players===
[[As of 2007|As of June 6, 2007]], the players with the most caps for Italy are:
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="3" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|-
!colspan=9|[[FIFA World Cup]] record
!#
! style="width:1%" rowspan=28|
!Name
!colspan=6|[[FIFA World Cup qualification|Qualification]] record
!Career
!Caps
!Goals
|-
|-
!Year
!1
!Round
|align="left"|[[Paolo Maldini]]
!Position
|1988&ndash;2002
!{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}}
|126
!{{Tooltip|W|Wins}}
!{{Tooltip|D|Draws}}*
!{{Tooltip|L|Losses}}
!{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
!{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}}
!{{Tooltip|W|Wins}}
!{{Tooltip|D|Draws}}
!{{Tooltip|L|Losses}}
!{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
|-
|{{flagicon|Uruguay}} [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]]
|colspan=8|''Did not enter''
|colspan=6|''Did not enter''
|- style="background:gold"
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Italy|1861}} [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]]
|'''[[1934 FIFA World Cup final|Champions]]'''
| rowspan="2" |'''1st'''
|'''5'''
|'''4'''
|'''1'''
|'''0'''
|'''12'''
|'''3'''
|1
|1
|0
|0
|4
|0
|- style="background:gold"
|{{flagicon|France|1794}} [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]]
|'''[[1938 FIFA World Cup final|Champions]]'''
|'''4'''
|'''4'''
|'''0'''
|'''0'''
|'''11'''
|'''5'''
|colspan=6|''Qualified as defending champions''
|-
|{{flagicon|Brazil|1889}} [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]
|rowspan=2|Group stage
|7th
|2
|1
|0
|1
|4
|3
|colspan=6|''Qualified as defending champions''
|-
|{{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]]
|10th
|3
|1
|0
|2
|6
|7
|7
|2
|2
|0
|0
|7
|2
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|Sweden}} [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]]
!2
|colspan=8|''Did not qualify''
|align="left"|[[Dino Zoff]]
|4
|1968&ndash;1982
|112
|2
|0
|0
|2
|5
|5
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|Chile}} [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]]
!3
|rowspan=2|Group stage
|align="left"|[[Fabio Cannavaro]]
|9th
|1997&mdash;
|108
|3
|1
|1
|1
|1
|3
|2
|2
|2
|0
|0
|10
|2
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|England}} [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966]]
!4
|9th
|align="left"|[[Giacinto Facchetti]]
|3
|1963&ndash;1977
|94
|1
|0
|2
|2
|2
|6
|4
|1
|1
|17
|3
|- style="background:silver"
|{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]]
|'''[[1970 FIFA World Cup final|Runners-up]]'''
|'''2nd'''
|'''6'''
|'''3'''
|'''2'''
|'''1'''
|'''10'''
|'''8'''
|4
|3
|1
|0
|10
|3
|3
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|West Germany}} [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]]
!5
|Group stage
|align="left"|[[Alessandro Del Piero]]
|10th
|1995&mdash;
|83
|3
|27
|1
|1
|1
|5
|4
|6
|4
|2
|0
|12
|0
|- style="background:#9acdff"
|{{flagicon|Argentina}} [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]]
|Fourth place
|4th
|7
|4
|1
|2
|9
|6
|6
|5
|0
|1
|18
|4
|- style="background:gold"
|{{flagicon|Spain}} [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]]
|'''[[1982 FIFA World Cup Final|Champions]]'''
|'''1st'''
|'''7'''
|'''4'''
|'''3'''
|'''0'''
|'''12'''
|'''6'''
|8
|5
|2
|1
|12
|5
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]]
!rowspan="3" valign="top"|6
|Round of 16
|align="left"|[[Franco Baresi]]
|12th
|1982&ndash;1994
|81
|4
|1
|1
|2
|1
|5
|6
|colspan=6|''Qualified as defending champions''
|- style="background:#c96"
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Italy}} [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]]
|'''Third place'''
|'''3rd'''
|'''7'''
|'''6'''
|'''1'''
|'''0'''
|'''10'''
|'''2'''
|colspan=6|''Qualified as hosts''
|- style="background:silver"
|{{flagicon|United States}} [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]]
|'''[[1994 FIFA World Cup final|Runners-up]]'''
|'''2nd'''
|'''7'''
|'''4'''
|'''2'''
|'''1'''
|'''8'''
|'''5'''
|10
|7
|2
|1
|22
|7
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|France|1974}} [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]]
|align="left"|[[Giuseppe Bergomi]]
|Quarter-finals
|1982&ndash;1998
|81
|5th
|5
|3
|2
|0
|8
|3
|10
|6
|6
|4
|0
|13
|2
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|South Korea|1997}} {{flagicon|Japan}} [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]]
|align="left"|[[Marco Tardelli]]
|Round of 16
|1976&ndash;1985
|15th
|81
|4
|1
|1
|2
|5
|5
|8
|6
|6
|2
|0
|16
|3
|- style="background:gold"
|{{flagicon|Germany}} [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]
|'''[[2006 FIFA World Cup final|Champions]]'''
|'''1st'''
|'''7'''
|'''5'''
|'''2'''
|'''0'''
|'''12'''
|'''2'''
|10
|7
|2
|1
|17
|8
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|South Africa}} [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]]
!9
|rowspan=2|Group stage
|align="left"|[[Demetrio Albertini]]
|26th
|1991&ndash;2002
|79
|3
|3
|0
|2
|1
|4
|5
|10
|7
|3
|0
|18
|7
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|Brazil}} [[2014 FIFA World Cup|2014]]
|22nd
|3
|1
|0
|2
|2
|3
|10
|6
|4
|0
|19
|9
|-
|{{flagicon|Russia}} [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018]]
|colspan=8 rowspan=2|''Did not qualify''
|12
|7
|3
|2
|21
|9
|-
|{{flagicon|Qatar}} [[2022 FIFA World Cup|2022]]
|9
|4
|4
|1
|13
|3
|-
|{{flagicon|Canada}} {{flagicon|Mexico}} {{flagicon|United States}} [[2026 FIFA World Cup|2026]]
|colspan=8 rowspan=3|''To be determined''
|colspan=8 rowspan=3|''To be determined''
|-
|{{flagicon|Morocco}} {{flagicon|Portugal}} {{flagicon|Spain}} [[2030 FIFA World Cup|2030]]
|-
|{{flagicon|Saudi Arabia}} [[2034 FIFA World Cup|2034]]
|-
!Total
!4 titles
!{{Tooltip|18/22|Number of tournaments qualified for}}
!83
!45
!21
!17
!128
!77
!118
!78
!30
!10
!10
!234
|align="left"|[[Gaetano Scirea]]
!72
|1975&ndash;1986
|78
|}
:''*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalty shoot-out]].''

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:35%;font-size:80%"
|- style="color:white"
!style="background:#0066bc;width:20%" colspan="6"|<big>Italy's World Cup record</big>
|-
!width=10%|First match
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Italy|1861}} 7–1 {{fb-rt|United States|1912}}<br> (27 May 1934; [[Rome]], [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]])</div>
|-
!width=10%|Biggest win
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Italy|1861}} 7–1 {{fb-rt|United States|1912}}<br> (27 May 1934; [[Rome]], [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]])</div>
|-
!width=10%|Biggest defeat
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Switzerland}} 4–1 {{fb-rt|Italy}}<br> (23 June 1954; [[Basel]], [[Switzerland]])</div><br><div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Brazil}} [[1970 FIFA World Cup Final|4–1]] {{fb-rt|Italy}}<br> (21 June 1970; [[Mexico City]], [[Mexico]])</div>
|-
!width=10%|Best result
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">'''Champions''' in [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]], [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]], and [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]</div>
|-
!width=10%|Worst result
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">26th place in [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]] (group stage)</div>
|}

===UEFA European Championship===
{{Main|Italy at the UEFA European Championship}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!colspan=9|[[UEFA European Championship]] record
! style="width:1%" rowspan=22|
!colspan=6|[[UEFA European Championship qualifying|Qualification]] record
|-
!Year
!Round
!Position
!{{Tooltip|Pld|Matches played}}
!{{Tooltip|W|Wins}}
!{{Tooltip|D|Draws}}*
!{{Tooltip|L|Losses}}
!{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
!{{Tooltip|Pld|Matches played}}
!{{Tooltip|W|Wins}}
!{{Tooltip|D|Draws}}
!{{Tooltip|L|Losses}}
!{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
|-
|{{flagicon|France}} [[1960 European Nations' Cup|1960]]
|colspan=8|''Did not enter''
|colspan=6|''Did not enter''
|-
|{{flagicon|Spain|1945}} [[1964 European Nations' Cup|1964]]
|colspan=8|''Did not qualify''
|4
|2
|2
|1
|1
|8
|3
|- style="background:gold"
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Italy}} [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]]
|'''[[UEFA Euro 1968 Final|Champions]]'''
|'''1st'''
|'''3'''
|'''1'''
|'''2'''
|'''0'''
|'''3'''
|'''1'''
|8
|6
|1
|1
|21
|6
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|Belgium}} [[UEFA Euro 1972|1972]]
!
|colspan=8 rowspan=2|''Did not qualify''
|align="left"|[[Alessandro Nesta]]
|8
|1996&ndash;
|78
|4
|3
|1
|13
|6
|-
|{{flagicon|Yugoslavia}} [[UEFA Euro 1976|1976]]
|6
|2
|3
|1
|3
|3
|- style="background:#9acdff"
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Italy}} [[UEFA Euro 1980|1980]]
|Fourth place
|4th
|4
|1
|3
|0
|0
|2
|1
|colspan=6|''Qualified as hosts''
|-
|-
|{{flagicon|France|1974}} [[UEFA Euro 1984|1984]]
|colspan=8|''Did not qualify''
|8
|1
|3
|4
|6
|12
|- style="background:#c96"
|{{flagicon|West Germany}} [[UEFA Euro 1988|1988]]
|'''Semi-finals'''
|'''3rd'''
|'''4'''
|'''2'''
|'''1'''
|'''1'''
|'''4'''
|'''3'''
|8
|6
|1
|1
|16
|4
|-
|{{flagicon|Sweden}} [[UEFA Euro 1992|1992]]
|colspan=8|''Did not qualify''
|8
|3
|4
|1
|12
|5
|-
|{{flagicon|England}} [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]]
|Group stage
|10th
|3
|1
|1
|1
|3
|3
|10
|7
|2
|1
|20
|6
|- style="background:silver"
|{{flagicon|Belgium}} {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]]
|'''[[UEFA Euro 2000 Final|Runners-up]]'''
|'''2nd'''
|'''6'''
|'''4'''
|'''1'''
|'''1'''
|'''9'''
|'''4'''
|8
|4
|3
|1
|13
|5
|-
|{{flagicon|Portugal}} [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]]
|Group stage
|9th
|3
|1
|2
|0
|3
|2
|8
|5
|2
|1
|17
|4
|-
|{{flagicon|Austria}} {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[UEFA Euro 2008|2008]]
|Quarter-finals
|8th
|4
|1
|2
|1
|3
|4
|12
|9
|2
|1
|22
|9
|- style="background:silver"
|{{flagicon|Poland}} {{flagicon|Ukraine}} [[UEFA Euro 2012|2012]]
|'''[[UEFA Euro 2012 Final|Runners-up]]'''
|'''2nd'''
|'''6'''
|'''2'''
|'''3'''
|'''1'''
|'''6'''
|'''7'''
|10
|8
|2
|0
|20
|2
|-
|{{flagicon|France|1974}} [[UEFA Euro 2016|2016]]
|Quarter-finals
|5th
|5
|3
|1
|1
|6
|2
|10
|7
|3
|0
|16
|7
|-style="background:gold"
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Europe}} [[UEFA Euro 2020|2020]]
|'''[[UEFA Euro 2020 Final|Champions]]'''
|'''1st'''
|'''7'''
|'''5'''
|'''2'''
|'''0'''
|'''13'''
|'''4'''
|10
|10
|0
|0
|37
|4
|-
|{{flagicon|Germany}} [[UEFA Euro 2024|2024]]
|Round of 16
|14th
|4
|1
|1
|2
|3
|5
|8
|4
|2
|2
|16
|9
|-
|{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} {{flagicon|Republic of Ireland}} [[UEFA Euro 2028|2028]]
|colspan=8|''To be determined''
|colspan=8|''To be determined''
|-
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|Italy}} {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[UEFA Euro 2032|2032]]
|colspan=8|''Qualified as co-hosts''
|colspan=8|''Qualified as co-hosts''
|-
!Total
!2 titles
!11/17
!49
!22
!19
!8
!55
!36
!126
!78
!32
!16
!240
!85
|}
|}
:''*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalty shoot-out]].''


{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:35%;font-size:80%"
===Top goalscorers===
|- style="color:white"
[[As of 2007|As of June 6, 2007]], the players with the most goals for Italy are:
!style="background:#0066bc;width:20%" colspan="6"|<big>Italy's European Championship record</big>
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="3" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|-
!width=10%|First match
!#
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Italy}} 0–0 {{fb-rt|URS|1955}}<br> (5 June 1968; [[Naples]], [[Italy]])</div>
!Player
!Career
!Goals (Caps)
!Goals per match
|-
|-
!width=10%|Biggest win
!1
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Turkey}} 0–3 {{fb-rt|Italy}}<br>(11 June 2021; [[Rome]], [[Italy]])</div><br><div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Italy}} 3–0 {{fb-rt|Switzerland}}<br>(16 June 2021; [[Rome]], [[Italy]])</div>
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Luigi Riva]]
|1965&ndash;1974
|35 (42)
|0.83
|-
|-
!width=10%|Biggest defeat
!2
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Spain}} [[UEFA Euro 2012 final|4–0]] {{fb-rt|Italy}}<br>(1 July 2012; [[Kyiv]], [[Ukraine]])</div>
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Giuseppe Meazza]]
|1930&ndash;1939
|33 (53)
|0.62
|-
|-
!width=10%|Best result
!3
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Silvio Piola]]
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">'''Champions''' in [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]] and [[UEFA Euro 2020|2020]]</div>
|1935&ndash;1952
|30 (34)
|0.88
|-
|-
!width=10%|Worst result
!4
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Roberto Baggio]]
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">10th place in [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]] (group stage)</div>
|}
|1988&ndash;2004

|27 (56)
===UEFA Nations League===
|0.48
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!colspan="22"|[[UEFA Nations League]] record
|-
|-
!colspan="12"|League phase
!
!rowspan="7"|
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Alessandro Del Piero]]
!colspan="9"|Finals
|1995&mdash;
|27 (83)
|0.33
|-
|-
!Season
!rowspan="2" valign="top"|6
!{{Tooltip|LG|League (A, B, C or D)}}
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Alessandro Altobelli]]
!{{Tooltip|Grp|Group (1, 2, 3 or 4)}}
|1980&ndash;1988
!{{Tooltip|Pos|Position}}
|25 (61)
!{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}}
|0.41
!{{Tooltip|W|Won}}
!{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}}
!{{Tooltip|L|Lost}}
!{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
!{{Tooltip|P/R|Promotion/relegation at end of season}}
!{{Tooltip|RK|Interim ranking}}
!Year
!{{Tooltip|Pos|Position}}
!{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}}
!{{Tooltip|W|Won}}
!{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}}*
!{{Tooltip|L|Lost}}
!{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
!Squad
|-
|-
|[[2018–19 UEFA Nations League|2018–19]]
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Adolfo Baloncieri]]
|[[2018–19 UEFA Nations League A|A]]
|1920&ndash;1930
|[[2018–19 UEFA Nations League A#Group 3|3]]
|25 (47)
|2nd||4||1||2||1||2||2||{{same position}}||8th
|0.53
|{{flagicon|POR}} [[2019 UEFA Nations League Finals|2019]]
|colspan="8"|''Did not qualify''
|- style="background:#c96"
|[[2020–21 UEFA Nations League|2020–21]]
|[[2020–21 UEFA Nations League A|A]]
|[[2020–21 UEFA Nations League A#Group 1|1]]
|1st||6||3||3||0||7||2||{{same position}}||3rd
|style="border:2px solid red"|{{flagicon|ITA}} [[2021 UEFA Nations League Finals|2021]]
|'''3rd'''||'''2'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''1'''||'''3'''||'''3'''
|'''[[2021 UEFA Nations League Finals squads#Italy|Squad]]'''
|-style="background:#c96"
|[[2022–23 UEFA Nations League|2022–23]]
|[[2022–23 UEFA Nations League A|A]]
|[[2022–23 UEFA Nations League A#Group 3|3]]
|1st||6||3||2||1||8||7||{{same position}}||4th
|{{flagicon|NED}} [[2023 UEFA Nations League Finals|2023]]
|'''3rd'''||'''2'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''1'''||'''4'''||'''4'''
|'''[[2023 UEFA Nations League Finals squads#Italy|Squad]]'''
|-
|-
|[[2024–25 UEFA Nations League|2024–25]]
!
|[[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A|A]]
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Filippo Inzaghi]]
|[[2024–25 UEFA Nations League A#Group 2|2]]
|1997&mdash;
|2nd||6||4||1||1||13||8||{{same position}}||5th
|25 (55)
|{{flagicon image|Flag of none.svg}} [[2025 UEFA Nations League Finals|2025]]
|0.45
|colspan="9"|''To be determined''
|- style="color:white"
!colspan="4" style="background:#0066bc"|Total
!style="background:#0066bc"|22
!style="background:#0066bc"|11
!style="background:#0066bc"|8
!style="background:#0066bc"|3
!style="background:#0066bc"|30
!style="background:#0066bc"|19
!colspan="2" style="background:#0066bc"|6th
!colspan="2" style="background:#0066bc"|Total
!style="background:#0066bc"|4
!style="background:#0066bc"|2
!style="background:#0066bc"|0
!style="background:#0066bc"|2
!style="background:#0066bc"|7
!style="background:#0066bc"|7
!style="background:#0066bc"|—
|}
:''*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalty shoot-out]].''
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:35%;font-size:80%"
|- style="color:white"
!style="background:#0066bc;width:20%" colspan="6"|<big>Italy's UEFA Nations League record</big>
|-
|-
!width=10%|First match
!rowspan="3" valign="top"|9
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Italy}} 1–1 {{fb-rt|Poland}}<br> (7 September 2018; [[Bologna]], [[Italy]])</div>
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Francesco Graziani]]
|1975&ndash;1983
|23 (64)
|0.53
|-
|-
!width=10%|Biggest win
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Christian Vieri]]
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Italy}} 4–1 {{fb-rt|Israel}}<br>(14 October 2024; [[Udine]], [[Italy]])</div>
|1997&mdash;2005
|-
|23 (49)
!width=10%|Biggest defeat
|0.47
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Germany}} 5–2 {{fb-rt|Italy}}<br> (14 June 2022; [[Mönchengladbach]], [[Germany]])</div>
|-
!width=10%|Best result
|width=23% |<div style="text-align:center">3rd place in [[2020–21 UEFA Nations League|2020–21]] and [[2022–23 UEFA Nations League|2022–23]]</div>
|-
!width=10%|Worst result
|width=23% |<div style="text-align:center">8th place in [[2018–19 UEFA Nations League|2018–19]]</div>
|}
|}


== Colours ==
===FIFA Confederations Cup===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
{|
|-
|-
!colspan=10|[[FIFA Confederations Cup]] record
|
|-
{{Football kit box |
!Year
pattern_la = |
!Round
pattern_b = |
!Position
pattern_ra = |
!{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}}
leftarm = ffffff |
!{{Tooltip|W|Wins}}
body = ffffff |
!{{Tooltip|D|Draws}}*
rightarm = ffffff |
!{{Tooltip|L|Losses}}
shorts = ffffff |
!{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
socks = ffffff |
!{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
title = 1910-1911
|-
}}
|{{flagicon|Saudi Arabia}} [[1992 King Fahd Cup|1992]]
|
| colspan="8"|''No European team participated''
{{Football kit box |
|-
pattern_la = |
|{{flagicon|Saudi Arabia}} [[1995 King Fahd Cup|1995]]
pattern_b = |
|rowspan=4 colspan=8|''Did not qualify''
pattern_ra = |
|-
leftarm = 75AADB |
|{{flagicon|Saudi Arabia}} [[1997 FIFA Confederations Cup|1997]]
body = 75AADB |
|-
rightarm = 75AADB |
|{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[1999 FIFA Confederations Cup|1999]]
shorts = ffffff |
|-
socks = 000000 |
|{{flagicon|South Korea}} {{flagicon|Japan}} [[2001 FIFA Confederations Cup|2001]]
title = 1911-1930
|-
}}
|{{flagicon|France|1974}} [[2003 FIFA Confederations Cup|2003]]
|
|colspan=8|''Did not enter''{{Efn|As [[UEFA Euro 2000]] runners-up.}}
{{Football kit box |
|-
pattern_la = |
|{{flagicon|Germany}} [[2005 FIFA Confederations Cup|2005]]
pattern_b = |
|colspan=8|''Did not qualify''
pattern_ra = |
|-
leftarm = 007FFF|
|{{flagicon|South Africa}} [[2009 FIFA Confederations Cup|2009]]
body = 007FFF|
|Group stage
rightarm = 007FFF|
|5th
shorts = ffffff |
|3
socks = 000000|
|1
title = 1930-1937
|0
}}
|
|2
|3
{{Football kit box |
|5
pattern_la = |
|- style="background:#c96"
pattern_b = |
|{{flagicon|Brazil}} [[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup|2013]]
pattern_ra = |
|'''Third place'''
leftarm = 000000 |
|'''3rd'''
body = 000000 |
|'''5'''
rightarm = 000000 |
|'''2'''
shorts = ffffff |
|'''2'''
socks = 000000 |
|'''1'''
title = 1937-1943
|'''10'''
}}
|'''10'''
|
|-
{{Football kit box |
|{{flagicon|Russia}} [[2017 FIFA Confederations Cup|2017]]
pattern_la = |
|colspan=8|''Did not qualify''
pattern_b = |
|- style="color:white"
pattern_ra = |
!style="background:#0066bc"|Total
leftarm = 007FFF|
!style="background:#0066bc"|Third place
body = 007FFF|
!style="background:#0066bc"|2/10
rightarm = 007FFF|
!style="background:#0066bc"|8
shorts = ffffff |
!style="background:#0066bc"|3
socks = 000000|
!style="background:#0066bc"|2
title = 1945-1970
!style="background:#0066bc"|3
}}
!style="background:#0066bc"|13
|
!style="background:#0066bc"|15
{{Football kit box |
|}
pattern_la = |
:''*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalty shoot-out]].''
pattern_b = |

pattern_ra = |
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:35%;font-size:80%"
leftarm = 007FFF|
|- style="color:white"
body = 007FFF|
!style="background:#0066bc;width:20%" colspan="6"|<big>Italy's Confederations Cup record</big>
rightarm = 007FFF|
|-
shorts = ffffff |
!width=10%|First match
socks = 007FFF|
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Italy}} 3–1 {{fb-rt|United States}}<br> (15 June 2009; [[Pretoria]], [[South Africa]])</div>
title = 1970-
|-
}}
!width=10%|Biggest win
|}007FFF
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Italy}} 3–1 {{fb-rt|United States}}<br> (15 June 2009; [[Pretoria]], [[South Africa]])</div>
== Trivia ==
|-
{{Trivia|date=July 2007}}
!width=10%|Biggest defeat
*List of teams whose balance with Italy is positive, taking into account only competitive games.<ref>Competitive games considered are those belonging to: Olympic Games 1912 - 1952, Coppa Internazionale 1927 - 1960, World Cup 1934 - 2006, European Nations Cup 1962 - 2004, U.S.A. Tournament 1976, Copa de Oro 1981, Torneo "Scania 100" 1991, U.S. Cup 1992 and France Tournament 1997.</ref> Data are Italian victories-draws-defeats:[http://www.homestead.com/forza_azzurri/Opp_Comp.html]
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Brazil}} 3–0 {{fb-rt|Italy}}<br> (21 June 2009; [[Pretoria]], [[South Africa]])</div>
**[[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] 2-2-3
|-
**[[Croatia national football team|Croatia]] 0-1-2
!width=10%|Best result
**[[France national football team|France]] 3-4-4
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">'''Third place''' in [[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup|2013]]</div>
**[[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] 1-2-2
|-
**[[North Korea national football team|North Korea]] 0-0-1
!width=10%|Worst result
**[[USSR national football team|USSR]] 0-5-3
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">Group stage in [[2009 FIFA Confederations Cup|2009]]</div>
**[[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]] 1-1-2
|}
*The team's kit suppliers are currently [[PUMA AG|Puma]].

*Italy played in the two [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]] finals that ended in shootouts. In 1994, they lost to Brazil and most recently in 2006, they emerged victorious over France.
===Central European International Cup===
*Italy is the current [[Unofficial Football World Championship|Unofficial World Champions]], after having beaten former champion [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] in [[2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying|Euro 2008 qualifying competition.]] They are the first team since [[France national football team|France]] in 1998 to hold both the official and unofficial titles at the same time.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
*There has been at least one [[Juventus]] player in every Italian [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]] squad since they first entered in 1934.
|-
!colspan=10|[[Central European International Cup]] record
|-
!Season
!Round
!Position
!{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}}
!{{Tooltip|W|Wins}}
!{{Tooltip|D|Draws}}
!{{Tooltip|L|Losses}}
!{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
|- style="background:gold"
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|EUR}} [[1927–30 Central European International Cup|1927–30]]
|'''Champions'''
|'''1st'''
|'''8'''
|'''5'''
|'''1'''
|'''2'''
|'''21'''
|'''15'''
|- style="background:silver"
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|EUR}} [[1931–32 Central European International Cup|1931–32]]
|'''Runners-up'''
|'''2nd'''
|'''8'''
|'''3'''
|'''3'''
|'''2'''
|'''14'''
|'''11'''
|- style="background:gold"
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|EUR}} [[1933–35 Central European International Cup|1933–35]]
|'''Champions'''
|'''1st'''
|'''8'''
|'''5'''
|'''1'''
|'''2'''
|'''18'''
|'''10'''
|- style="background:silver"
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|EUR}} [[1936–38 Central European International Cup|1936–38]]
|'''—'''{{Efn|This edition of the tournament was interrupted due to the [[Anschluss|annexation of Austria]] to [[Nazi Germany]] on 12 March 1938, which meant that three games – all of which were Italy's – could not be played. As a result, no title was awarded.}}
|'''2nd'''
|'''4'''
|'''3'''
|'''1'''
|'''0'''
|'''9'''
|'''4'''
|-
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|EUR}} [[1948–53 Central European International Cup|1948–53]]
|Fourth place
|4th
|8
|3
|2
|3
|10
|9
|-
|style="border:3px solid red"|{{flagicon|EUR}} [[1955–60 Central European International Cup|1955–60]]
|Fifth place
|5th
|10
|2
|3
|5
|12
|21
|- style="color:white"
!style="background:#0066bc"|Total
!style="background:#0066bc"|2 titles
!style="background:#0066bc"|6/6
!style="background:#0066bc"|46
!style="background:#0066bc"|21
!style="background:#0066bc"|11
!style="background:#0066bc"|14
!style="background:#0066bc"|84
!style="background:#0066bc"|70
|}

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:35%;font-size:80%"
|- style="color:white"
!style="background:#0066bc;width:20%" colspan="6"|<big>Central European International Cup record</big>
|-
!width=10%|First match
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Italy}} 2–2 {{fb-rt|Czechoslovakia}}<br> (23 October 1927; [[Prague]], [[Czechoslovakia]])</div>
|-
!width=10%|Biggest win
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Hungary|1896}} 0–5 {{fb-rt|Italy}}<br> (11 May 1930; [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]])</div>
|-
!width=10%|Biggest defeat
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">{{fb|Yugoslavia}} 6–1 {{fb-rt|Italy}}<br> (12 May 1957; [[Zagreb]], [[Yugoslavia]])</div>
|-
!width=10%|Best result
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">'''Champions''' in [[1927–30 Central European International Cup|1927-30]] and [[1933–35 Central European International Cup|1933-35]]</div>
|-
!width=10%|Worst result
|width=23%|<div style="text-align:center">Fifth place in [[1955–60 Central European International Cup|1955-60]]</div>
|}

===Other tournaments===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Round
!Position
!{{Tooltip|Pld|Games played}}
!{{Tooltip|W|Won}}
!{{Tooltip|D|Drawn}}
!{{Tooltip|L|Lost}}
!{{Tooltip|GF|Goals for}}
!{{Tooltip|GA|Goals against}}
|- style="background:#c96;"
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament]] ||'''Round robin'''||'''3rd of 6'''||'''3'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''2'''||'''7'''||'''7'''
|-
|{{flagicon|Uruguay}} [[1980 World Champions' Gold Cup]]||Group stage||4th of 6||2||0||1||1||1||3
|- style="background:gold;"
|{{flagicon|Mexico|1974}} [[1985 Ciudad de México Cup Tournament]]||'''Champions'''||'''1st of 3'''||'''2'''||'''1'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''3'''||'''2'''
|- style="background:gold;"
|{{flagicon|Sweden}} 1991 [[Scania 100 Tournament]]||'''Champions'''||'''1st of 4'''||'''1'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''3'''||'''1'''
|- style="background:silver;"
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[1992 U.S. Cup]]||'''Round-robin'''||'''2nd of 4'''||'''3'''||'''1'''||'''2'''||'''0'''||'''3'''||'''1'''
|-
||{{flagicon|France|1974}} [[1997 Tournoi de France]]||Round robin||4th of 4||3||0||2||1||5||7
|- style="background:silver;"
||{{flagicon|England}} [[2022 Finalissima]]||'''Runners-up'''||'''2nd of 2'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''0'''||'''1'''||'''0'''||'''3'''
|-
!colspan="3"|Total||15||4||6||5||22||24
|}
:''*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalty shoot-out]].''

==Head-to-head record==
{{Main|Italy national football team head-to-head record}}
As of 17 November 2024, the complete official match record of the Italian national team comprises [[Italy national football team head-to-head record|885 matches]]: 472 wins, 240 draws and 173 losses.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||title=Statistiche Gare FIGC|url=https://www.figc.it/it/nazionali/nazionali-in-cifre/statistiche-gare/?squadraId=12&federazioneId=&citta=&competizioneId=&tecnicoId=&anno=&tipoCampoId=&risultatoId=|access-date=25 June 2020|website=www.figc.it|archive-date=25 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625073117/https://www.figc.it/it/nazionali/nazionali-in-cifre/statistiche-gare/?squadraId=12&federazioneId=&citta=&competizioneId=&tecnicoId=&anno=&tipoCampoId=&risultatoId=|url-status=live}}</ref> During these matches, the team scored 1,545 times and conceded 872 goals. Italy's highest winning margin is nine goals, which was achieved against the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] in 1948 (9–0). Their longest winning streak is 13 wins,<ref name="32unbeaten13consecutive">{{#invoke:Cite web||last=Begley |first=Emlyn |date=2 July 2021 |title=Belgium–Italy 1–2 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198657 |access-date=2 July 2021 |website=BBC Sport}}</ref> and their unbeaten record is 37 consecutive official matches, a world record.<ref>{{#invoke:Cite web||last=Edwards|first=Daniel|date=8 September 2021|title=Rampant Italy set all-time scoring record with scintillating start vs Lithuania|url=https://www.goal.com/en-gh/news/rampant-italy-set-all-time-scoring-record-with-scintillating/1ognq5lnkofa01amc0h8p6b3vq|access-date=8 September 2021|website=Goal.com}}</ref>

==Honours==
===Major competitions===
* '''[[FIFA World Cup]]'''
** {{gold1}} '''Champions (4)''': [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]], [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]], [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]
** {{silver2}} Runners-up (2): [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]], [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]]
** {{bronze3}} Third place (1): [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]]
* '''[[UEFA European Championship]]'''
** {{gold1}} '''Champions (2)''': [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]], [[UEFA Euro 2020|2020]]
** {{silver2}} Runners-up (2): [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]], [[UEFA Euro 2012|2012]]
* '''[[UEFA Nations League]]'''
** {{bronze3}} Third place (2): [[2020–21 UEFA Nations League|2020–21]], [[2022–23 UEFA Nations League|2022–23]]
* '''[[FIFA Confederations Cup]]'''
** {{bronze3}} Third place (1): [[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup|2013]]
* '''[[CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions]]'''
** {{silver2}} Runners-up (1): [[2022 Finalissima|2022]]
* '''[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]'''
** {{gold1}} '''Gold medal (1)''': [[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936]]
** {{bronze3}} Bronze medal (1): [[Football at the 1928 Summer Olympics|1928]]

===Regional===
* '''[[Central European International Cup]]'''
** '''Champions (2)''': [[1927–30 Central European International Cup|1927–30]], [[1933–35 Central European International Cup|1933–35]]
** Runners-up (1): [[1931–32 Central European International Cup|1931–32]]

===Awards===
* '''[[Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year|Laureus World Team of the Year]]'''
** '''Winners (2)''': 2007, 2022
*'''[[World Soccer (magazine)#Men's World Team of the Year|World Soccer World Team of the Year]]'''
** '''Winners (1)''': 2021

===Summary===
{| class="wikitable" width=30% style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|-
!Competition !!{{gold1}} !!{{silver2}} !!{{bronze3}} !!Total
|-
|align=left|[[FIFA World Cup]]
|4 || 2 || 1 || 7
|-
| align="left" |[[FIFA Confederations Cup]]
|0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
| align="left" |[[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|1 || 0 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left|[[UEFA European Championship]]
|2 || 2 || 0 || 4
|-
|align=left|[[UEFA Nations League]]
|0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left|[[CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions]]
|0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
! Total !! 7 !! 5 !! 5 !! 17
|}


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Association football|Italy}}
* [[Battle of Highbury]]
*[[Italy women's national football team]]
* [[Battle of Santiago]]
* [[Game of the Century (football)|Game of the Century]]
*[[Italy national under-21 football team]]
*[[Italy national under-20 football team]]
*[[Italy national under-19 football team]]
*[[Italy national under-17 football team]]
*[[Italy national beach soccer team]]
*[[Italy national futsal team]]
*[[Serie A]]
*[[Football in Italy]]
*[[Sport in Italy]]


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
<div class="references-small">
{{reflist|group=nb}}
<references/>
{{reflist|group=note}}
</div>

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.figc.it/ Italian Football Federation (Official news about the national team)]
* {{Official website|https://www.figc.it/en/home/|FIGC official website}} {{in lang|it|en}}
*[http://www.a2bworldcup.com/italy.html Italy World Cup News]
* [https://www.figc.it/it/nazionali/azzurri/nazionale-a/ Official National football team page] by [[FIGC]]
*[http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/ital-intres.html RSSSF archive of international results 1910&mdash;]
* [https://www.facebook.com/NazionaleCalcio/ Official Facebook page] by [[FIGC]]
*[http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-recintlp.html RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers]
* [https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/national-associations/ITA/ Italy] at [[UEFA]]
*[http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/ital-coach-triv.html RSSSF archive of coaches 1910&mdash;]
* [https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/associations/ITA Italy] at [[FIFA]]
*[http://www.planetworldcup.com/NATIONS/ita.html Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup]
*[http://www.planetworldcup.com/NATIONS/ita_qualify.html Planet World Cup archive of squads in the World Cup]
*[http://www.planetworldcup.com/NATIONS/ita_squads.html Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup qualifiers]
*[http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=natteam&Id=11&b=true&cont=Europe Profile of the Italian national team on footballdatabase.com]
*[http://www.homestead.com/forza_azzurri/main.html <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Forza Azzurri Statistics</span> &mdash; A comprehensive Statistics archive]
* [http://www.amoia.bravehost.com/calcio.html Italian Calcio by Steve Amoia. History of the Azzurri and the Serie A. English language site.]


{{Italy national football team}}
{{fb start}}
{{Navboxes top
{{International Football}}
|fg= #FFFFFF
{{UEFA teams}}
|bg= #0066BC
{{2006 FIFA World Cup finalists}}
|bordercolor= darkblue
|list1 =}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Italy achievements and awards
|fg= #FFFFFF
|bg= #0066BC
|bordercolor= darkblue
|list1 =
{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|ach}}
{{succession box
| before = [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]]<br />{{fb|URU}}
| after = [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]<br />{{fb-rt|URU}}
| title = [[FIFA World Cup|World Champions]]
| years = [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]] (First title)<br />[[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]] (Second title)
|}}
{{succession box
| before = [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]]<br />{{fb|ARG}}
| after = [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]]<br />{{fb-rt|ARG}}
| title = [[FIFA World Cup|World Champions]]
| years = [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]] (Third title)
|}}
{{succession box
| before = [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]]<br />{{fb|BRA}}
| after = [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010]]<br />{{fb-rt|ESP}}
| title = [[FIFA World Cup|World Champions]]
| years = [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]] (Fourth title)
|}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Football at the 1928 Summer Olympics|1928]]<br />{{fb|URU}}
| after = [[Football at the 1948 Summer Olympics|1948]]<br />{{fb-rt|SWE}}
| title = [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Champions]]
| years = [[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936]] (First title)
|}}
{{succession box
| before = [[UEFA Euro 1964|1964]]<br />{{fb|ESP|1945}}
| after = [[UEFA Euro 1972|1972]]<br />{{fb-rt|West Germany}}
| title = [[UEFA European Championship|European Champions]]
| years = [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]] (First title)
|}}
{{succession box
| before = [[UEFA Euro 2016|2016]]<br />{{fb|POR}}
| after = [[UEFA Euro 2024|2024]]<br />{{fb-rt|ESP}}
| title = [[UEFA European Championship|European Champions]]
| years = [[UEFA Euro 2020|2020]] (Second title)
|}}
{{s-ach|aw}}
{{succession box
| before = {{flagdeco|FRA}} [[Renault in Formula One|Renault F1]]
| after = [[South Africa national rugby union team|South Africa rugby union]] {{flagdeco|SAF}}
| title = [[Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year|Laureus Team of the Year]]
| years = 2007
|}}
{{succession box
| before = {{flagdeco|GER}} [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]]
| after = {{fb-rt|ARG}}
| title = [[Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year|Laureus Team of the Year]]
| years = 2022
|}}
{{S-end}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Italy squads
|fg= #FFFFFF
|bg= #0066BC
|bordercolor= darkblue
|list1 =
{{Navboxes
|title = Italy FIFA World Cup squads
|bg= #0066BC
|fg= white
|bordercolor= darkblue
|list1 =
{{Italy Squad 1934 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 1938 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 1950 World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 1954 World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 1962 World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 1966 World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 1970 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 1974 World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 1978 World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 1982 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy squad 1986 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy squad 1990 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy squad 1994 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy squad 1998 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy squad 2002 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy squad 2006 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy squad 2010 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Italy squad 2014 FIFA World Cup}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Italy UEFA Euro squads
|bg= #0066BC
|fg= white
|bordercolor= darkblue
|list1 =
{{Italy Squad 1968 UEFA Euro}}
{{Italy squad UEFA Euro 1980}}
{{Italy squad UEFA Euro 1988}}
{{Italy squad UEFA Euro 1996}}
{{Italy squad UEFA Euro 2000}}
{{Italy squad UEFA Euro 2004}}
{{Italy squad UEFA Euro 2008}}
{{Italy squad UEFA Euro 2012}}
{{Italy squad UEFA Euro 2016}}
{{Italy squad UEFA Euro 2020}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Italy FIFA Confederations Cup squads
|bg= #0066BC
|fg= white
|bordercolor= darkblue
|list1 =
{{Italy Squad 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup}}
{{Italy squad 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup}}
}}
}}
{{FIFA World Cup winners}}
{{UEFA Euro winners}}
{{Laureus Team of the Year Award}}
{{Football in Italy}}
{{Football in Italy}}
{{FWC Winners}}
{{UEFA teams}}
{{National sports teams of Italy}}
{{fb end}}
{{Navboxes bottom}}
{{Portal bar|Association football|Italy}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Italy National Football Team}}
[[Category:Italy national football team| ]]
[[Category:Italy national football team| ]]
[[Category:European national football teams]]
[[Category:European national association football teams]]
[[Category:FIFA World Cup-winning countries|Italy]]
[[Category:UEFA European Championship–winning countries]]
[[Category:UEFA European Football Championship-winning countries]]
[[Category:FIFA World Cup–winning countries]]
[[Category:National sports teams of Italy|Football]]
[[Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners]]
[[Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners]]
[[Category:Football teams in Italy]]

[[Category:1898 establishments in Italy]]
{{Link FA|it}}
[[Category:National sports teams of Italy]]

[[ar:منتخب إيطاليا لكرة القدم]]
[[bg:Национален отбор по футбол на Италия]]
[[cs:Italská fotbalová reprezentace]]
[[de:Italienische Fußballnationalmannschaft]]
[[et:Itaalia jalgpallikoondis]]
[[es:Selección de fútbol de Italia]]
[[eo:Itala nacia teamo de futbalo]]
[[fa:تیم ملی فوتبال ایتالیا]]
[[fr:Équipe d'Italie de football]]
[[gl:Selección nacional de fútbol de Italia]]
[[ko:이탈리아 축구 국가대표팀]]
[[id:Tim nasional sepak bola Italia]]
[[it:Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia]]
[[he:נבחרת איטליה בכדורגל]]
[[ka:იტალიის ეროვნული საფეხბურთო ნაკრები]]
[[lv:Itālijas futbola izlase]]
[[lt:Italijos vyrų futbolo rinktinė]]
[[hu:Olasz labdarúgó-válogatott]]
[[mt:Tim Nazzjonali tal-Futbol ta' l-Italja]]
[[nl:Italiaans voetbalelftal]]
[[ja:サッカーイタリア代表]]
[[no:Italias herrelandslag i fotball]]
[[pl:Reprezentacja Włoch w piłce nożnej]]
[[pt:Seleção Italiana de Futebol]]
[[ro:Echipa naţională de fotbal a Italiei]]
[[ru:Сборная Италии по футболу]]
[[scn:Italia (squatra di palluni)]]
[[sk:Talianske národné futbalové mužstvo]]
[[sl:Italijanska nogometna reprezentanca]]
[[sr:Фудбалска репрезентација Италије]]
[[fi:Italian jalkapallomaajoukkue]]
[[sv:Italiens herrlandslag i fotboll]]
[[th:ฟุตบอลทีมชาติอิตาลี]]
[[vi:Đội tuyển bóng đá quốc gia Ý]]
[[tr:İtalya Millî Futbol Takımı]]
[[uk:Збірна Італії з футболу]]
[[zh-yue:意大利國家足球隊]]
[[zh:意大利國家足球隊]]

Latest revision as of 17:51, 25 December 2024

Italy
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Gli Azzurri (The Blues)
AssociationItalian Football Federation
(Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio, FIGC)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachLuciano Spalletti
CaptainGianluigi Donnarumma
Most capsGianluigi Buffon (176)
Top scorerGigi Riva (35)
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeITA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 9 Steady (19 December 2024)[1]
Highest1 (November 1993, February 2007, April–June 2007, September 2007)
Lowest21 (June 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 Cup
Appearances18 (first in 1934)
Best resultChampions (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006)
European Championship
Appearances11 (first in 1968)
Best resultChampions (1968, 2020)
Nations League Finals
Appearances2 (first in 2021)
Best resultThird place (2021, 2023)
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
Appearances1 (first in 2022)
Best resultRunners-up (2022)
Confederations Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2009)
Best resultThird place (2013)
WebsiteFIGC.it (in Italian and English)

The Italy national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in men's 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 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), appearing in two other finals (1970, 1994), and reaching also a third (1990) and a fourth (1978) place. Italy also won two European Championships (1968, 2020), and appeared in two other finals of the tournament (2000, 2012). Italy's team also finished as runners-up in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions in 2022, and in third place at both the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and at the UEFA Nations League in 2021 and 2023.

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 twelve 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. However, 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, France, Germany and Spain. In the FIFA World Rankings, in force since August 1993, Italy has occupied 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

[edit]

Origins and first two World Cup titles 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.[2] 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.[3][4][5] 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.[6]

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 first place out of five Central European teams, topping the group with 11 points in both editions of the tournament.[7][8] 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.[9]

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.[10][11] 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. 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. It is rumored that before the 1938 finals fascist Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini 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'."[12]

Reconstruction in the 1950s and 1960s

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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.[13]

In the World Cup finals of 1954 and 1962, Italy failed to progress past the first round,[14][15] 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.[16] Italy did not take part in the first edition of the European Championship in 1960 (then known as the European Nations Cup),[17] and was knocked out by the Soviet Union in the first round of the 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying.[18]

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.[19][20]

European champions and World Cup runners-up (1968–1974)

[edit]
Captain Giacinto Facchetti celebrates Italy's UEFA Euro 1968 victory.

In 1968, Italy hosted the European Championship and won the tournament in its first participation, beating Yugoslavia in Rome and winning their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup. The final ended in a 1–1 draw after extra time, and the rules of the time required the match to be replayed a few days later. This would be the only time the final of the European Championship or World Cup was replayed.[21] On 10 June 1968, Italy won the replay 2–0 (with goals from Gigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi) to take the trophy.

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.[22] They were later defeated by Brazil in the final 4–1.

After losing to Belgium in the quarter-finals to qualify for the 1972 European Championship, this generation's cycle 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.

Third World Cup title generation (1978–1986)

[edit]

Under the initial guide of Fulvio Bernardini and later that of head coach Enzo Bearzot, a new generation of Italian players came to the international stage in the second half of the 1970s. At the 1978 World Cup, Italy was the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team Argentina, and the Azzurri made it to the third-place final, where they were defeated by Brazil 2–1. In the second round group stage match against the Netherlands, which prevented Italy from reaching the final, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was beaten by a long-distance shot from Arie Haan, and Zoff was criticized for the defeat.[23] Italy hosted the 1980 European Championship, the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four,[24] 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.[25][26]

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[27] 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.[28][29][30] Italy then progressed to the semi-final where they defeated Poland with two goals from Rossi.

In the final on 11 July 1982, Italy met West Germany in Madrid. 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.[31] Tardelli's screaming celebration after his goal was one of the defining images of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph.[32] Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot with six goals as well as the Golden Ball Award for the best player of the tournament,[33] and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the World Cup.[34]

Subsequently, Italy failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championship,[35][36] and then entered as reigning champions in the 1986 World Cup,[37][38][39] but were eliminated by reigning European Champions, France, in the round of 16.[40]

Vicini years and World Cup runners-up with Sacchi (1986–1994)

[edit]

In 1986, Azeglio Vicini was appointed as new head coach, replacing Bearzot.[41] He granted a central role to players such as Walter Zenga and Gianluca Vialli, and conceded a chance to young players coming from the U21 team;[42] Vialli scored goals that gave Italy a 1988 European Championship pass.[43] He was also shown like Altobelli's possibly successor, having his same goal attitude.[44] Both forwards stroke the target in Germany, where Soviet Union defeated the Azzurri in semi-finals.[45]

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.[46] 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.

After failing to qualify for the 1992 European Championship, Vicini was replaced by former AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi, who brought a new style of play. In November 1993, FIFA ranked Italy first in the for the first time since the ranking system was introduced in December 1992.[47]

At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Italy lost the opening match against Ireland 0–1 at Giants Stadium in New York City. After a 1–0 win against Norway in New York 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.[48] 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 for another 2–1 win.[49][50] 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 Northeastern 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.[51] Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3–2 after Baggio, who had been playing with the aid of a pain-killer injection[52] and a heavily bandaged hamstring,[53][54] missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.[55][56]

Euro 2000 runners-up (1996–2000)

[edit]

The vice World champions, still led by Sacchi, qualified for Euro 1996 in England, but did not progress beyond the group stage. Having defeated Russia 2–1 and losing by the same score against the Czech Republic, Italy required a victory in their final group match against Germany to progress to the quarter-finals. However, Gianfranco Zola failed to convert a decisive penalty in a 0–0 draw against the Germans, who eventually won the tournament.[57]

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.[58] After finishing first in their group and overcoming Norway in the second round, Italy faced a penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals, for the third World Cup in a row.[59] The Italian side, where Alessandro Del Piero and Baggio renewed the controversial staffetta (lit.'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 shoot-out. With two goals scored in this tournament, Baggio remains the only Italian player to have scored in three different FIFA World Cup editions.[60]

Italy (right) line-up ahead of the UEFA Euro 2000 Final against France

Two years later, at the Euro 2000, with four consecutive victories the team led by former captain Dino Zoff made it all the way to the semifinals, facing another penalty shoot-out but emerging victorious over the co-hosts, the Netherlands.[61] Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saved one penalty during the match and two in the shootout, while striker Francesco Totti scored his penalty with a cucchiaio (lit.'spoon') chip.[62] 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.[63] After the defeat, coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticized by AC Milan club president and politician Silvio Berlusconi.[64]

Trapattoni years (2000–2004)

[edit]

Giovanni Trapattoni took charge of the team in July 2000 following the resignation of Dino Zoff.[65] 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 incorrectly disallowed two regular goals resulting in a 2–1 defeat to Italy.[66] 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.[67]

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.[68] 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.[69] 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 incorrectly ruled offside, and the sending off of Totti after being presented with a second yellow card for an alleged dive in the penalty area.[70] 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."[71]

Trapattoni stayed on and guided the team at Euro 2004 in Portugal, where after 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.[72] Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and then Italian football federation president Franco Carraro accused the Swedish and Danish teams of fixing the result of their final match (2-2 was the result which consented both teams to advance).[73] Despite calls, then-UEFA spokesperson Robert Faulkner said the organization would not investigate the result.[74]

2006 World Cup victory

[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.

The Italian Football Federation replaced Trapattoni with Marcello Lippi.[75][76] With controversy plaguing the domestic league, Italy entered the 2006 World Cup as one of the eight seeded teams.[77][78][79][80] Italy finished first in Group E with wins against Ghana and the Czech Republic and a draw with the United States.[81][82] In the round of 16, Italy secured a 1–0 victory over Australia with Francesco Totti scoring a penalty.[83] Italy overcame Ukraine, 3–0, after taking an early lead through Gianluca Zambrotta and additional goals coming from Luca Toni.[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]

On 9 July 2006, the Azzurri won their fourth World Cup title after defeating France in the final. French captain Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the seventh minute before Marco Materazzi scored from a corner kick, twelve minutes later. The score remained level and during 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. The decisive penalty goal was scored by Grosso.[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 World Cup, members of the squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere.[90][91]

The decline of the World champions

[edit]

Marcello Lippi, who had announced his resignation three days after the World Cup triumph, was replaced by Roberto Donadoni.[92] Italy qualified from their Euro 2008 qualifying group ahead of France. On 14 February 2007, Italy climbed to first in the FIFA World Rankings for the second time.[47] At 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 thanks to a penalty save from Gianluigi Buffon.[93] Italy would win their final group game against France 2–0, a rematch of the 2006 World Cup final. The Azzurri were eliminated in the quarter-finals on penalties to eventual champions Spain. Within a week of the game, Roberto Donadoni's contract was terminated and Marcello Lippi was rehired as coach.[94]

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 against the United States, but subsequent defeats to Egypt and Brazil meant that they finished third in the group on goals scored (points level with the US and Egypt), and were eliminated.[95]

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 with Paraguay and New Zealand, they suffered a 3–2 loss to Slovakia.[96] It was the first time Italy failed to win a single game at a World Cup tournament, and in doing so became only the third nation to be eliminated in the first round while being reigning World Cup champions.[97]

Euro 2012 runners-up and fluctuating results (2010–2016)

[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.[98]

At UEFA Euro 2012, Italy finished second in their group behind Spain, which earned them a quarter-final tie against England. After a mostly one-sided affair in which Italy failed to take their chances, they managed to beat England on penalties.[99][100] In the semi-final against Germany, two first-half goals by Mario Balotelli saw the Italians through to the final. In the final, Italy fell to a 4–0 defeat to Spain.[101]

During the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, Italy reached the semi-finals, losing 7–6 on penalties to Spain.[102] Italy did manage to beat Uruguay in the third place play-off. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Italy defeated England 2–1 in their first match before succumbing to underdogs Costa Rica 1–0 in the second group stage match.[103][104] In Italy's last group match, they were knocked out by Uruguay 1–0, in a controversial match, where Italian player Claudio Marchisio was controversially sent off whilst Uruguay's Luis Suarez bit Italy's Giorgio Chiellini without any sanction.[105][106] Shortly after this loss, coach Cesare Prandelli resigned.[107]

Former Juventus manager Antonio Conte was selected to replace Prandelli. On 10 October 2015, Italy qualified for Euro 2016, courtesy of a 3–1 win over Azerbaijan;[108] the result meant that Italy had gone 50 games unbeaten in European qualifiers.[109] On 4 April 2016, it was announced that Antonio Conte would step down as Italy coach after Euro 2016 to become head coach of Chelsea.[110] The 23-man squad was initially criticised by many fans and members of the media for its lack of quality,[111] which saw notable absences, such as Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco being controversially left out.[112] Italy opened Euro 2016 with a 2–0 victory over Belgium and qualified thanks to a win against Sweden in the second match, which made their defeat 1–0 to Ireland in the final group stage match irrelevant for access to the round of 16.[113][114] Italy subsequently defeated reigning European champions Spain 2–0 in the round of 16.[115] However, Italy were defeated by reigning world champions Germany, in the quarter-finals on penalties, after a 1–1 draw.[116][117]

Failure to qualify for 2018 World Cup

[edit]

After Conte's planned departure following Euro 2016, Gian Piero Ventura took over as manager for the team.[118] During qualification for the 2018 World Cup, Italy finished second in Group G, five points behind Spain.[119][120] Italy would compete in the play-off round against Sweden, where they lost 1–0 on aggregate and therefore eliminated; the first time that Italy had failed to qualify for the World Cup since 1958.[121] Following the match, veterans Andrea Barzagli, Daniele De Rossi and captain Gianluigi Buffon all declared their retirement from the national team.[122] On 15 November 2017, Ventura was dismissed as head coach,[123] and on 20 November 2017, Carlo Tavecchio resigned as president of the Italian Football Federation.[124] Luigi Di Biagio was called as caretaker manager and led the team in subsequent friendlies in March 2018, including the last of Buffon's 176 appearances on 23 March in a friendly against Argentina.[125]

Mancini era (2018–2023)

[edit]

Resurgence and second European title

[edit]

On 14 May 2018, Roberto Mancini was announced as the new manager.[126] On 16 August 2018, in the FIFA World Ranking that followed the 2018 World Cup, Italy dropped to their lowest ever ranking of 21st.[127] On 18 November 2019, Italy finished the Euro 2020 qualifying with ten wins in all ten matches, becoming only the sixth national side to qualify for a European Championship with a perfect record.[128] On 17 March 2020, UEFA confirmed that Euro 2020 would be postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[129]

President of Italy Sergio Mattarella (right) congratulates captain Chiellini in Rome, the day after Italy's triumph at UEFA Euro 2020.

At the delayed Euro 2020, Italy finished top of Group A, ahead of Turkey, Switzerland, and Wales. Being one of the host nations, Italy played all three group games at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, and it became the first team in European Championship history to win each group stage match without conceding.[130] In the round of 16, Italy defeated Austria 2–1 at Wembley Stadium after extra time.[131] In the quarter-finals, Italy secured a 2–1 victory over Belgium, before beating Spain on penalties in the semi-finals.[132][133]

In the final, on 11 July 2021, Italy won the European Championship defeating hosts England at Wembley Stadium on penalties after a 1–1 draw,[134] for their second European title and their first since 1968. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma also won the Player of the Tournament award, given to the best player of the tournament.[135] On 16 July, all members of the European Championship-winning squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere.[136]

Failure to qualify for 2022 World Cup

[edit]

In October 2021, Italy participated in the UEFA Nations League Finals as hosts, and lost the semi-final against Spain, 2–1 at the San Siro.[137] This match meant the end of the record 37 game unbeaten run and the first defeat for Italy in more than three years. Four days later, Italy won the third-place play-off, 2–1 against Belgium.[138] On 15 November, 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.[139] On 24 March 2022, Italy lost 1–0 in the semi-final of the play-offs against North Macedonia which was their first ever world Cup qualifying defeat at home, therefore, failing to qualify for the World Cup for a second consecutive time.[140][141] On 1 June, Italy took part in the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions match, rebranded as the 2022 Finalissima, losing 3–0 against defending Copa América champion Argentina.[142]

On 26 September 2022, Italy qualified for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals after beating Hungary 2–0 in Budapest.[143] On 15 June 2023, Italy played the semi-final against Spain, losing 2–1.[144] Three days later, Italy won the third-place final 3–2 against the Netherlands.[145] Mancini's stay on Italy's bench ended two months later following his resignation.[146]

Spalletti years (2023–present)

[edit]

Luciano Spalletti was chosen as the new coach,[147] and as of September 2023 he led the team in the last six games of Euro 2024 qualifying, managing to achieve direct qualification to the European Championship.[148] Italy were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 following a 2–0 loss to Switzerland.[149]

Rivalries

[edit]
  • Italy vs. Brazil: matches between the nations are known as the World Derby (Portuguese: Clássico Mundial).[150] 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.[151]
  • 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.[152][153] 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.[154]
  • 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.[155] 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.[156] 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.[117]
  • Italy vs. Spain: this is a less heated and less heartfelt rivalry for the Italians, especially when compared to those with Germany and France. Matches between Italy and Spain are known as the Mediterranean Derby (Spanish: Rivalidad futbolística Italia-España), named after the Mediterranean Sea that separates the two nations.[157] Matches between them have been contested since 1920, and although they are not immediate geographical neighbours, their rivalry at international level is enhanced by the strong performances of their representative clubs in UEFA competitions.[158][159] Since the quarterfinal match between them at Euro 2008, the rivalry has renewed, with its most notable match being the UEFA Euro 2012 final, which Spain won 4–0.[160][161]

Team image

[edit]

Kits and crest

[edit]
Italy in 1910, wearing the original white jersey. They would switch to the traditional blue shirt a year later.
Giuseppe Meazza in the early 1930s wearing Italy's blue shirt with the cross of the House of Savoy badge.
The blue shirt had a House of Savoy badge during the early 1930s.
Giacinto Facchetti wearing the classic Italian uniform in 1968: blue shirt, white shorts and blue socks and the tricolour badge.
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.[162] 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).[162] The team later became known as gli Azzurri (the Blues).[162][163][164][165]

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.[166] 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.[167]

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.[162]

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.[162]

The first known kit manufacturer was Adidas in 1974. From 2003 to 2022, the kit was made by Puma.[162] Since the 2000s, an all-blue uniform including blue shorts has occasionally been used, particularity in international tournaments.[162] 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 as part of a four-year deal.[168]

Kit supplier Period
No supplier 1910–1973
West Germany Adidas 1974–1977
Italy Baila 1978–1979
France Le Coq Sportif 1980–1984
Italy Ennerre 1985
Italy Diadora 1986–1994
United States Nike 1995–1998
Italy Kappa 1999–2002
Germany Puma 2003–2022
Germany Adidas 2023–present

Coaching staff

[edit]
Luciano Spalletti, the current head coach of Italy

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 Italy Luciano Spalletti
Assistant coach Italy Marco Domenichini
Assistants Italy Daniele Baldini
Italy Salvatore Russo
Goalkeeping coach Italy Marco Savorani
Athletic trainers Italy Francesco Sinatti
Italy Franco Ferrini
Match analysts Italy Marco Mannucci
Italy Renato Baldi
Doctors Italy Angelo De Carli
Italy Carmine Costabile
Nutritionist Italy Matteo Pincella
Physiotherapists Italy Mauro Doimi
Italy Fabio Sannino
Italy Emanuele Randelli
Italy Fabrizio Scalzi
Osteopath Italy Walter Martinelli
Head of delegation Italy Gianluigi Buffon
Secretary Italy Emiliano Cozzi

Source: [169]

Results and fixtures

[edit]

The following is a list of match results in the last twelve months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

[edit]
21 March 2024 Friendly Venezuela  1–2  Italy Fort Lauderdale, United States
17:00 EDT (UTC−04:00)
  • Machís 43'
Report
Stadium: Chase Stadium
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez (United States)
24 March 2024 Friendly Ecuador  0–2  Italy Harrison, United States
16:00 EDT (UTC−04:00) Report Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Jon Freemon (United States)
4 June 2024 Friendly Italy  0–0  Turkey Bologna, Italy
21:00 CEST (UTC+02:00) Report Stadium: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara
Attendance: 25,012
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria)
15 June 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 Group B Italy  2–1  Albania Dortmund, Germany
21:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Report Stadium: Westfalenstadion
Attendance: 60,512
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)
20 June 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 Group B Spain  1–0  Italy Gelsenkirchen, Germany
21:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Report Stadium: Arena AufSchalke
Attendance: 49,528
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
24 June 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 Group B Croatia  1–1  Italy Leipzig, Germany
21:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Report
Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 38,322
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
29 June 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 Round of 16 Switzerland  2–0  Italy Berlin, Germany
18:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Report Stadium: Olympiastadion
Attendance: 68,172
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
6 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2 France  1–3  Italy Paris, France
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) Report Stadium: Parc des Princes
Attendance: 44,956
Referee: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)
9 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2 Israel  1–2  Italy Budapest, Hungary
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) Report
Stadium: Bozsik Aréna[note 1]
Attendance: 2,090
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)
10 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2 Italy  2–2  Belgium Rome, Italy
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) Report Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
Attendance: 44,297
Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway)
14 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2 Italy  4–1  Israel Udine, Italy
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Report Stadium: Stadio Friuli
Attendance: 11,700
Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (Spain)
14 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2 Belgium  0–1  Italy Brussels, Belgium
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) Report Tonali 11' Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium
Attendance: 41,367
Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)
17 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A Group 2 Italy  1–3  France Milan, Italy
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) Report
Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 68,158
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)

2025

[edit]
20 March 2025 2024–25 UEFA Nations League QF Italy  v  Germany Milan, Italy
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) Report Stadium: San Siro

Players

[edit]

Current squad

[edit]

The following players were called up for 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Belgium and France on 14 and 17 November 2024, respectively.[171]

Information correct as of 17 November 2024, after the match against France.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Gianluigi Donnarumma (captain) (1999-02-25) 25 February 1999 (age 25) 70 0 France Paris Saint-Germain
12 1GK Alex Meret (1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 (age 27) 3 0 Italy Napoli
13 1GK Guglielmo Vicario (1996-10-07) 7 October 1996 (age 28) 4 0 England Tottenham Hotspur

2 2DF Nicolò Savona (2003-03-19) 19 March 2003 (age 21) 0 0 Italy Juventus
3 2DF Federico Dimarco (1997-11-10) 10 November 1997 (age 27) 28 3 Italy Inter Milan
4 2DF Alessandro Buongiorno (1999-06-06) 6 June 1999 (age 25) 9 0 Italy Napoli
6 2DF Federico Gatti (1998-06-24) 24 June 1998 (age 26) 5 0 Italy Juventus
15 2DF Caleb Okoli (2001-07-13) 13 July 2001 (age 23) 0 0 England Leicester City
17 2DF Pietro Comuzzo (2005-02-20) 20 February 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Italy Fiorentina
19 2DF Destiny Udogie (2002-11-28) 28 November 2002 (age 22) 9 0 England Tottenham Hotspur
20 2DF Andrea Cambiaso (2000-02-20) 20 February 2000 (age 24) 13 2 Italy Juventus
21 2DF Alessandro Bastoni (1999-04-13) 13 April 1999 (age 25) 33 2 Italy Inter Milan
22 2DF Giovanni Di Lorenzo (1993-08-04) 4 August 1993 (age 31) 44 5 Italy Napoli

5 3MF Manuel Locatelli (1998-01-08) 8 January 1998 (age 26) 30 3 Italy Juventus
8 3MF Sandro Tonali (2000-05-08) 8 May 2000 (age 24) 21 1 England Newcastle United
14 3MF Nicolò Rovella (2001-12-04) 4 December 2001 (age 23) 2 0 Italy Lazio
16 3MF Davide Frattesi (1999-09-22) 22 September 1999 (age 25) 25 8 Italy Inter Milan
18 3MF Nicolò Barella (1997-02-07) 7 February 1997 (age 27) 59 10 Italy Inter Milan
23 3MF Niccolò Pisilli (2004-09-23) 23 September 2004 (age 20) 1 0 Italy Roma

7 4FW Daniel Maldini (2001-10-11) 11 October 2001 (age 23) 2 0 Italy Monza
9 4FW Mateo Retegui (1999-04-29) 29 April 1999 (age 25) 18 6 Italy Atalanta
10 4FW Giacomo Raspadori (2000-02-18) 18 February 2000 (age 24) 36 7 Italy Napoli
11 4FW Moise Kean (2000-02-28) 28 February 2000 (age 24) 19 5 Italy Fiorentina

Recent 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-up
GK Michele Di Gregorio (1997-07-27) 27 July 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Italy Juventus v.  Israel, 14 October 2024
GK Ivan Provedel (1994-03-17) 17 March 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Italy Lazio UEFA Euro 2024 PRE
GK Marco Carnesecchi (2000-07-01) 1 July 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Italy Atalanta v.  Ecuador, 24 March 2024

DF Riccardo Calafiori (2002-05-19) 19 May 2002 (age 22) 8 0 England Arsenal v.  Israel, 14 October 2024
DF Raoul Bellanova (2000-05-17) 17 May 2000 (age 24) 4 0 Italy Atalanta v.  Israel, 14 October 2024
DF Matteo Gabbia (1999-10-21) 21 October 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Italy Milan v.  Israel, 14 October 2024
DF Matteo Darmian (1989-12-02) 2 December 1989 (age 35) 46 2 Italy Inter Milan UEFA Euro 2024
DF Gianluca Mancini (1996-04-17) 17 April 1996 (age 28) 14 0 Italy Roma UEFA Euro 2024
DF Francesco Acerbi (1988-02-10) 10 February 1988 (age 36) 34 1 Italy Inter Milan UEFA Euro 2024 PRE / INJ
DF Giorgio Scalvini (2003-12-11) 11 December 2003 (age 21) 8 0 Italy Atalanta UEFA Euro 2024 PRE / INJ

MF Samuele Ricci (2001-08-21) 21 August 2001 (age 23) 6 0 Italy Torino v.  Belgium, 14 November 2024 INJ
MF Nicolò Fagioli (2001-02-12) 12 February 2001 (age 23) 7 0 Italy Juventus v.  Israel, 14 October 2024
MF Lorenzo Pellegrini (1996-06-19) 19 June 1996 (age 28) 36 6 Italy Roma v.  Belgium, 10 October 2024 SUS
MF Marco Brescianini (2000-01-20) 20 January 2000 (age 24) 2 0 Italy Atalanta v.  Israel, 9 September 2024
MF Jorginho (1991-12-20) 20 December 1991 (age 33) 57 5 England Arsenal UEFA Euro 2024
MF Bryan Cristante (1995-03-03) 3 March 1995 (age 29) 43 2 Italy Roma UEFA Euro 2024
MF Michael Folorunsho (1998-02-07) 7 February 1998 (age 26) 2 0 Italy Napoli UEFA Euro 2024
MF Giacomo Bonaventura (1989-08-22) 22 August 1989 (age 35) 18 1 Saudi Arabia Al-Shabab v.  Ecuador, 24 March 2024

FW Nicolò Zaniolo (1999-07-02) 2 July 1999 (age 25) 19 2 Italy Atalanta v.  Israel, 14 October 2024
FW Lorenzo Lucca (2000-09-10) 10 September 2000 (age 24) 1 0 Italy Udinese v.  Israel, 14 October 2024
FW Mattia Zaccagni (1995-06-16) 16 June 1995 (age 29) 9 1 Italy Lazio v.  Israel, 9 September 2024
FW Federico Chiesa (1997-10-25) 25 October 1997 (age 27) 51 7 England Liverpool UEFA Euro 2024
FW Stephan El Shaarawy (1992-10-27) 27 October 1992 (age 32) 32 7 Italy Roma UEFA Euro 2024
FW Gianluca Scamacca (1999-01-01) 1 January 1999 (age 25) 20 1 Italy Atalanta UEFA Euro 2024
FW Riccardo Orsolini (1997-01-24) 24 January 1997 (age 27) 7 2 Italy Bologna UEFA Euro 2024 PRE

  • INJ Withdrew due to injury
  • PRE Preliminary squad
  • SUS Suspended

Previous squads

[edit]

Individual records

[edit]

Player records

[edit]
As of 14 October 2024[172][173]

Most appearances

[edit]
Gianluigi Buffon is the most capped player in the history of Italy with 176 caps.
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 121 8 2010–2023
5 Daniele De Rossi 117 21 2004–2017
Giorgio Chiellini 117 8 2004–2022
7 Andrea Pirlo 116 13 2002–2015
8 Dino Zoff 112 0 1968–1983
9 Gianluca Zambrotta 100 2 1999–2010
10 Giacinto Facchetti 94 3 1963–1977

Top goalscorers

[edit]
Luigi Riva is the top scorer in the history of Italy with 35 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Period
1 Luigi 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

Captains

[edit]

List of captaincy periods of the various captains throughout the years.[174]

Hat-tricks

[edit]

Manager records

[edit]
Most manager appearances
Enzo Bearzot: 104[186]

Team records

[edit]
Largest victory
9–0 vs. United States, 2 August 1948
Largest defeat
1–7 vs. Hungary, 6 April 1924

Competitive record

[edit]

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place     Hosts

FIFA World Cup

[edit]
FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Did not enter
Italy 1934 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 12 3 1 1 0 0 4 0
France 1938 Champions 4 4 0 0 11 5 Qualified as defending champions
Brazil 1950 Group stage 7th 2 1 0 1 4 3 Qualified as defending champions
Switzerland 1954 10th 3 1 0 2 6 7 2 2 0 0 7 2
Sweden 1958 Did not qualify 4 2 0 2 5 5
Chile 1962 Group stage 9th 3 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 0 0 10 2
England 1966 9th 3 1 0 2 2 2 6 4 1 1 17 3
Mexico 1970 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 2 1 10 8 4 3 1 0 10 3
West Germany 1974 Group stage 10th 3 1 1 1 5 4 6 4 2 0 12 0
Argentina 1978 Fourth place 4th 7 4 1 2 9 6 6 5 0 1 18 4
Spain 1982 Champions 1st 7 4 3 0 12 6 8 5 2 1 12 5
Mexico 1986 Round of 16 12th 4 1 2 1 5 6 Qualified as defending champions
Italy 1990 Third place 3rd 7 6 1 0 10 2 Qualified as hosts
United States 1994 Runners-up 2nd 7 4 2 1 8 5 10 7 2 1 22 7
France 1998 Quarter-finals 5th 5 3 2 0 8 3 10 6 4 0 13 2
South Korea Japan 2002 Round of 16 15th 4 1 1 2 5 5 8 6 2 0 16 3
Germany 2006 Champions 1st 7 5 2 0 12 2 10 7 2 1 17 8
South Africa 2010 Group stage 26th 3 0 2 1 4 5 10 7 3 0 18 7
Brazil 2014 22nd 3 1 0 2 2 3 10 6 4 0 19 9
Russia 2018 Did not qualify 12 7 3 2 21 9
Qatar 2022 9 4 4 1 13 3
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030
Saudi Arabia 2034
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.

UEFA European Championship

[edit]
UEFA European Championship record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 Did not enter Did not enter
Spain 1964 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 8 3
Italy 1968 Champions 1st 3 1 2 0 3 1 8 6 1 1 21 6
Belgium 1972 Did not qualify 8 4 3 1 13 6
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976 6 2 3 1 3 3
Italy 1980 Fourth place 4th 4 1 3 0 2 1 Qualified as hosts
France 1984 Did not qualify 8 1 3 4 6 12
West Germany 1988 Semi-finals 3rd 4 2 1 1 4 3 8 6 1 1 16 4
Sweden 1992 Did not qualify 8 3 4 1 12 5
England 1996 Group stage 10th 3 1 1 1 3 3 10 7 2 1 20 6
Belgium Netherlands 2000 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 1 1 9 4 8 4 3 1 13 5
Portugal 2004 Group stage 9th 3 1 2 0 3 2 8 5 2 1 17 4
Austria Switzerland 2008 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 2 1 3 4 12 9 2 1 22 9
Poland Ukraine 2012 Runners-up 2nd 6 2 3 1 6 7 10 8 2 0 20 2
France 2016 Quarter-finals 5th 5 3 1 1 6 2 10 7 3 0 16 7
Europe 2020 Champions 1st 7 5 2 0 13 4 10 10 0 0 37 4
Germany 2024 Round of 16 14th 4 1 1 2 3 5 8 4 2 2 16 9
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland 2028 To be determined To be determined
Italy Turkey 2032 Qualified as co-hosts Qualified as co-hosts
Total 2 titles 11/17 49 22 19 8 55 36 126 78 32 16 240 85
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

UEFA Nations League

[edit]
UEFA Nations League record
League phase Finals
Season LG Grp Pos Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK Year Pos Pld W D* L GF GA Squad
2018–19 A 3 2nd 4 1 2 1 2 2 Same position 8th Portugal 2019 Did not qualify
2020–21 A 1 1st 6 3 3 0 7 2 Same position 3rd Italy 2021 3rd 2 1 0 1 3 3 Squad
2022–23 A 3 1st 6 3 2 1 8 7 Same position 4th Netherlands 2023 3rd 2 1 0 1 4 4 Squad
2024–25 A 2 2nd 6 4 1 1 13 8 Same position 5th 2025 To be determined
Total 22 11 8 3 30 19 6th Total 4 2 0 2 7 7
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

FIFA Confederations Cup

[edit]
FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Saudi Arabia 1992 No European team participated
Saudi Arabia 1995 Did not qualify
Saudi Arabia 1997
Mexico 1999
South Korea Japan 2001
France 2003 Did not enter[a]
Germany 2005 Did not qualify
South Africa 2009 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 3 5
Brazil 2013 Third place 3rd 5 2 2 1 10 10
Russia 2017 Did not qualify
Total Third place 2/10 8 3 2 3 13 15
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Central European International Cup

[edit]
Central European International Cup record
Season Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Europe 1927–30 Champions 1st 8 5 1 2 21 15
Europe 1931–32 Runners-up 2nd 8 3 3 2 14 11
Europe 1933–35 Champions 1st 8 5 1 2 18 10
Europe 1936–38 [b] 2nd 4 3 1 0 9 4
Europe 1948–53 Fourth place 4th 8 3 2 3 10 9
Europe 1955–60 Fifth place 5th 10 2 3 5 12 21
Total 2 titles 6/6 46 21 11 14 84 70

Other tournaments

[edit]
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
United States 1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament Round robin 3rd of 6 3 1 0 2 7 7
Uruguay 1980 World Champions' Gold Cup Group stage 4th of 6 2 0 1 1 1 3
Mexico 1985 Ciudad de México Cup Tournament Champions 1st of 3 2 1 1 0 3 2
Sweden 1991 Scania 100 Tournament Champions 1st of 4 1 1 0 0 3 1
United States 1992 U.S. Cup Round-robin 2nd of 4 3 1 2 0 3 1
France 1997 Tournoi de France Round robin 4th of 4 3 0 2 1 5 7
England 2022 Finalissima Runners-up 2nd of 2 1 0 0 1 0 3
Total 15 4 6 5 22 24
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Head-to-head record

[edit]

As of 17 November 2024, the complete official match record of the Italian national team comprises 885 matches: 472 wins, 240 draws and 173 losses.[187] During these matches, the team scored 1,545 times and conceded 872 goals. Italy's highest winning margin is nine goals, which was achieved against the United States in 1948 (9–0). Their longest winning streak is 13 wins,[188] and their unbeaten record is 37 consecutive official matches, a world record.[189]

Honours

[edit]

Major competitions

[edit]

Regional

[edit]

Awards

[edit]

Summary

[edit]
Competition 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total
FIFA World Cup 4 2 1 7
FIFA Confederations Cup 0 0 1 1
Olympic Games 1 0 1 2
UEFA European Championship 2 2 0 4
UEFA Nations League 0 0 2 2
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions 0 1 0 1
Total 7 5 5 17

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ As UEFA Euro 2000 runners-up.
  2. ^ This edition of the tournament was interrupted due to the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938, which meant that three games – all of which were Italy's – could not be played. As a result, no title was awarded.
  1. ^ During UEFA Euro 2008, Alessandro Del Piero was named the Italy national team acting captain, as Cannavaro was injured and unable to take part in the competition, however Gianluigi Buffon was often played as captain as Del Piero was frequently deployed as a substitute.[175][176][177]
  2. ^ Gianluigi Buffon served as second acting captain in UEFA Euro 2008 after Alessandro Del Piero was named the team's acting captain, as Cannavaro was injured and unable to take part in the competition, however Del Piero was frequently deployed as a substitute.[177] Although Buffon was officially named Italy's new captain in 2010,[178] following Fabio Cannavaro's retirement subsequent to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Andrea Pirlo was named the Italy national team's acting captain after the tournament (while Daniele De Rossi was named the team's second acting captain),[178][179][180] as Buffon was ruled out until the end of the year due to injury, and only made his first appearance as Italy's official captain on 9 February 2011, in a 1–1 friendly away draw against Germany.[178][181][182][183]
  1. ^ Due to the Israel–Hamas war, Israel were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[170]

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[edit]
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