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Italy national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Italy women's national football team.

Italy
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Gli Azzurri (The Blues)
AssociationItalian Football Federation
(Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio – FIGC)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachGian Piero Ventura
CaptainGianluigi Buffon
Most capsGianluigi Buffon (174)
Top scorerLuigi Riva (35)
FIFA codeITA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current15 Increase 2 (16 October 2017)
Highest1 (November 1993, February 2007, April–June 2007, September 2007)
Lowest17 (July 2015, October 2015, September 2017)
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 and 2006
European Championship
Appearances9 (first in 1968)
Best resultChampions, 1968
Confederations Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2009)
Best resultThird place, 2013
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1928 Amsterdam Team
Gold medal – first place 1936 Berlin Team
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens Team

The Italian national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio italiana) represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy.

Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of the World Cup, having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) and appearing in two finals (1970, 1994), reaching a third place (1990) and a fourth place (1978). In 1938, they became the first team to defend their previous World Cup tournament victory and due to the outbreak of World War II retained the title for a record 16 years. They have also won a European Championship (1968), as well as appearing in two other finals (2000, 2012), one Olympic football tournament (1936) and two Central European International Cups. Italy's highest finish at the FIFA Confederations Cup was in 2013, when the squad achieved a third-place finish.

The national football team is known as Gli Azzurri from the traditional colour of Italian national teams and athletes representing 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; (azzurro, in Italian) comes from the "Azzurro Savoia" (Savoy Blue), the colour traditionally linked to the royal dynasty which unified Italy in 1861, and maintained in the official standard of the Italian President.

The primary training ground is at the FIGC headquarters in Coverciano, Florence, and the team plays their home matches at various stadiums throughout Italy.

History

Main article: History of the Italy national football team

1910–1938: Origins and first two World Cups

The squad celebrating its first FIFA World Cup in 1934.
Giuseppe Meazza played from 1930 to 1939 in the national team.

The team's first 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.[1][2][3] Some turmoil kept the players of Pro Vercelli, who were the best team in the league, out of the game. At the end of the match, the players received some cigarette packets thrown by the 4,000 spectators as a prize.[4] 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. First captain of the team was Francesco Calì.[5]

The first success in an official tournament came with the bronze medal in 1928 Summer Olympics, held in Amsterdam. After losing the semi-final against Uruguay, an 11–3 victory against Egypt secured third place in the competition. In the 1927–30 and 1933–35 Central European International Cup, Italy achieved the first place out of five Central European teams, topping the group with 11 points in both editions of the tournament.[6][7]

After declining to participate in the first World Cup (1930, in Uruguay) the Italian 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.[8][9] Other stars of that era included Luis Monti, Giovanni Ferrari, Giuseppe Ruffino and Virginio Rosetta. The hosts, Azzurri, defeated Czechoslovakia 2–1 in extra time in Rome, with goals by Raimundo Orsi and Angelo Schiavio to achieve their first World cup title in 1934. They achieved their second title in a 4–2 defeat of Hungary, with two goals by Gino Colaussi and two goals by Silvio Piola in the World Cup that followed.

1946–1966: Post-World War II

In 1949, 10 of the 11 players in the team's initial line-up were killed in the Superga air disaster 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.[10]

In the World Cup finals of 1954 and 1962, Italy failed to progress past the first round, and did not qualify for the 1958 World Cup. Italy did not take part in the first edition of the European Championship in 1960 (then known as the European Nations Cup), and was knocked out by the Soviet Union in the round of 16 of the 1964 European Championship.

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.[11]

1968–1976: European champions and World Cup runners-up

In 1968, the Azzurri won their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup, beating Yugoslavia in Rome for the European Championship title. The match holds the distinction of being the only European Championship or World Cup final to go to a replay.[12] After extra time the final ended in a 1–1 draw, and in the days before penalty shootouts, the rules required the match to be replayed a few days later. Italy won the replay 2–0 (with goals from Luigi 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 Luigi Riva and with a new center-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: Italy vs. West Germany 4–3, which is known as the "Game of the Century".[13] They were defeated by Brazil in the final. The cycle of international successes ended in the 1974 World Cup, when the team was eliminated by Grzegorz Lato's Polish team in the first round.

1978–1986: The third World Cup generation

File:Italia v Francia Mondiale 1978.jpg
Italy's line up, before the match against France in a group stage game at the 1978 FIFA World Cup at Estadio José María Minella (Mar del Plata, Argentina – 2 June 1978)

In the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, a new generation of Italian players, the most famous being Paolo Rossi, came to the international stage. Italy were the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team Argentina. Second-round games against West Germany (0–0), Austria (1–0) and Netherlands (1–2) led Italy to the third-place final, where the team was defeated by Brazil 2–1. In the match that eliminated Italy from the tournament against the Netherlands, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was beaten by a long-distance shot from Arie Haan, and Zoff was criticized for the defeat.[14] Italy hosted the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship, the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four,[15] 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.

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[16] 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.[17][18][19] Italy then progressed to the semi final where they defeated Poland with two goals from Rossi.

In the final, Italy met West Germany, who had advanced by a penalty shootout victory against France. The first half ended scoreless, after Antonio Cabrini missed a penalty awarded for a Hans-Peter Briegel foul on Bruno Conti. In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal, and while the Germans were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Marco Tardelli and substitute Alessandro Altobelli finalised two contropiede counterattacks to make it 3–0. Paul Breitner scored home West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes from the end.

Tardelli's cry, "Gol! Gol!" was one of the defining images of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph.[20] Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot with six goals as well as the Golden Ball Award for the best player of the tournament,[21] and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the World Cup.[22]

However, Italy failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championship.[23][24] Italy then entered as reigning champions in the 1986 World Cup[25][26][27] but were eliminated by reigning European Champions, France, in the round of 16.[28]

1988–2000: World Cup and European Championship runners-up

1986 also led to Bearzot's departure, with Azeglio Vicini appointed in his place.[29] New coach conceded a chance to young players, such as Ciro Ferrara and Gianluca Vialli:[30] Sampdoria striker scored goals that gave Italy 1988 European Championship pass.[31] He was also shown like Altobelli's possibly successor, having his same goal attitude.[32] Both forwards stroke the target in Germany, where Soviet Union defeated azzurri in semi-finals.[33]

Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in 1990. The Italian attack featured talented forwards Salvatore Schillaci and a young Roberto Baggio. Despite being favourites[34] to win, playing nearly all of their matches in Rome and not conceding a goal in their first five matches, Italy lost in the semi-final to defending champion Argentina in Naples, losing 4–3 on penalty kicks following a 1–1 draw after extra time, Schillaci's first half opener having been equalised in the second half by Claudio Caniggia's header for Argentina. Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick (with Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea). Italy went on to defeat England 2–1 in the third place match in Bari, with Schillaci scoring the winning goal on a penalty to become the tournament's top scorer with six goals. Italy then failed to qualify for the 1992 European Championship.

At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Italy lost the opening match against Ireland 0–1 at the Giants Stadium near New York City. After a 1–0 win against Norway in New York City and a 1–1 draw with Mexico at the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Italy advanced from Group E based on goals scored among the four teams tied on points. During their round of 16 match at the Foxboro Stadium near Boston, Italy was down 0–1 late against Nigeria, but Baggio rescued Italy with an equaliser in the 88th minute and a penalty in extra time to take the win.[35] Baggio scored another late goal against Spain at their quarter-final match in Boston to seal a 2–1 win and two goals against Bulgaria in their semi-final match in New York City for another 2–1 win.[36][37]

In the final, which took place in Los Angeles's Rose Bowl stadium 2,700 miles (4,320 km) and three time zones away from the Atlantic Northeast part of the United States where they had played all their previous matches, Italy, who had 24 hours less rest than Brazil, played 120 minutes of scoreless football, taking the match to a penalty shootout. Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3–2 after Baggio, who had been playing with the aid of a pain-killer injection[38] and a heavily bandaged hamstring,[39][40] missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.[41][42]

Italy (right) lineup ahead of the UEFA Euro 2000 Final against France

Italy did not progress beyond the group stage at the finals of Euro 1996. Having defeated Russia 2–1 but losing to the Czech Republic by the same score, Italy required a win to be sure of progressing. Gianfranco Zola failed to convert a decisive penalty in a 0–0 draw against Germany,[43] who eventually won the tournament. Then, during the qualifying campaign for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the Azzurri beat England at Wembley Stadium for the second time, with Zola scoring the only goal. In the final tournament, Italy found themselves in another critical shootout for the third World Cup in a row. The Italian side, where Alessandro Del Piero and Baggio renewed the controversial staffetta ("relay") between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970, held the eventual World Champions and host team France to a 0–0 draw after extra time in the quarter-finals, but lost 4–3 in the shootout. With two goals scored in this tournament, Baggio is still the only Italian player to have scored in three different FIFA World Cup editions.[44]

In the Euro 2000, another shootout decided Italy's fate but this time in their favour when defeating the co-hosts the Netherlands in the semi final. Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saved one penalty during the match and two in the shootout, while the Dutch players missed one other penalty during the match and one during the shootout with a rate of one penalty scored out of six attempts. Emerging star Francesco Totti scored his penalty with a cucchiaio ("spoon") chip. Italy finished the tournament as runners-up, losing the final 2–1 against France (to a golden goal in extra time) after conceding les Bleus equalising goal just 30 seconds before the expected end of injury time (93rd minute). After the defeat, coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticized by Milan club president and politician Silvio Berlusconi.[45]

2000–2004: Trapattoni Era

In the 2002 World Cup, a 2–0 victory against Ecuador with two Christian Vieri goals was followed by a series of controversial matches. During the match against Croatia, two goals were disallowed resulting in a 2–1 defeat for Italy. Despite two goals being ruled for borderline 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. However, co-host country South Korea eliminated Italy in the round of 16 by a score of 2–1. The game was highly 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.[46] 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.[47] The most contentious decisions were an early penalty awarded to South Korea (saved by Buffon), a golden goal by Damiano Tommasi ruled offside, and the sending off of Totti after presented with a second yellow card for an alleged dive in the penalty area, all ruled by the referee Byron Moreno.[48] FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that the linesmen had been a "disaster" and admitted that Italy suffered from bad offside calls from the group matches, but he denied conspiracy allegations. While ruling Totti's sending off by Moreno, Blatter refused to blame Italy's loss on Moreno but stated: "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."[49]

A three-way five point tie in the group stage of the 2004 European Championship left Italy as the "odd man out", as they failed to qualify for the quarter finals after finishing behind Denmark and Sweden on the basis of number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams. Italy's winning goal scored during stoppage time giving them a 2–1 victory over Bulgaria by Antonio Cassano proved futile, ending the team's tournament.

2006: Fourth World Cup title

Within the crowd in the Circus Maximus in Rome, after the Italian team scored against France.
Italian President Napolitano congratulates coach Lippi and captain Cannavaro after the final match against France. Berlin, 9 July 2006.

The summer of 2004 marked the choice, by FIGC, to appoint Marcello Lippi for Italy's bench.[50] He made his debut in an upset 2–0 defeat in Iceland[51] but then managed to qualify for 2006 World Cup.[52][53] Italy's campaign in the tournament hosted by Germany was accompanied by open pessimism[54] due to the controversy caused by the 2006 Serie A scandal, however these negative predictions were then refuted, as the Azzurri eventually won their fourth World Cup.

Italy won their opening game against Ghana 2–0, with goals from Andrea Pirlo (40th minute) and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta (83rd minute). The team performance was judged the best among the opening games by FIFA President Sepp Blatter.[55]

The second match was a less convincing 1–1 draw with United States, with Alberto Gilardino's diving header equalized by a Cristian Zaccardo own goal. After the equaliser, midfielder Daniele De Rossi and the United States's Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope were sent off, leaving only nine men on the field for nearly the entirety of the second half, but the score remained unchanged despite a controversial decision when Gennaro Gattuso's shot was deflected in but disallowed because of an offside ruling. The same happened at the other end when U.S. winger DaMarcus Beasley's goal was not given due to teammate Brian McBride being ruled offside. De Rossi was suspended for four matches for elbowing McBride in the face and would only return for the final match.

Italy finished first in Group E with a 2–0 win against the Czech Republic, with goals from defender Marco Materazzi (26th minute) and striker Filippo Inzaghi (87th minute), advancing to the Round of 16 in the knockout stages, where they faced Australia. In this match, Materazzi was controversially sent off early in the second half (53rd minute) after an attempted two-footed tackle on Australian midfielder Marco Bresciano. In stoppage time a controversial penalty kick was awarded to the Azzurri when referee Luis Medina Cantalejo ruled that Lucas Neill fouled Fabio Grosso. Francesco Totti converted into an upper corner of the goal past Mark Schwarzer for a 1–0 win.[56]

In the quarterfinals Italy beat Ukraine 3–0. Gianluca Zambrotta opened the scoring early (in the sixth minute) with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area after a quick exchange with Totti created enough space. Luca Toni added two more goals in the second half (59th and 69th minute), as Ukraine pressed forward but were not able to score, hitting the crossbar and requiring several saves from Gianluigi Buffon and a goal-line clearance from Zambrotta. Afterwards, manager Marcello Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto, who was in the hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt.[57]

In the semi-finals, Italy beat hosts Germany 2–0 with the two goals coming in the last two minutes of extra time. After a back-and-forth half-hour of extra time during which Alberto Gilardino and Gianluca Zambrotta struck the post and the crossbar respectively, Fabio Grosso scored in the 119th minute after a disguised Andrea Pirlo pass found him open in the penalty area for a bending left-footed shot into the far corner past German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's dive. Substitute striker Alessandro Del Piero then sealed the victory by scoring with the last kick of the game at the end of a swift counterattack by Cannavaro, Totti and Gilardino.[58]

The Azzurri won their fourth World Cup, defeating their long-time rivals France in Berlin, on 9 July, 5–3 on penalty kicks after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra time in the final. French captain Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a chipped penalty kick, awarded for a controversial foul by Materazzi on Florent Malouda. Twelve minutes later, a header by Materazzi from a corner kick by Pirlo brought Italy even. In the second half, a potential winning goal by Toni was disallowed for a very close offside call by linesman Luc La Rossa. In the 110th minute, Zidane (playing in the last match of his career) was sent off by referee Horacio Elizondo for headbutting Materazzi in the chest after a verbal exchange;[59] Italy then won the penalty shootout 5–3; the crucial penalty miss being David Trezeguet's, the same player who scored the golden goal for France in the Euro 2000. Trezeguet's attempt hit the crossbar, then shot down after its impact, and just stayed ahead of the line.[60]

Ten different players scored for Italy in the tournament, 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, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni — were named to the 23-man tournament All Star Team.[61] 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.[62] In honour of Italy winning the FIFA World Cup for a fourth time, all members of the World Cup-winning squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere Ufficiale.[63][64]

2006–2010: Post World Cup and Lippi's second term

After the Italian triumph in the World Cup, 1994 World Cup star Roberto Donadoni was announced the new coach of the Azzurri. He replaced Marcello Lippi, who had announced his resignation before the World Cup's start.[65] Italy played in the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B, along with France. Italy won the group, with France being the runner-up. On 14 February 2007, FIFA ranked Italy first in the FIFA World Rankings, with a total of 1,488 points, 37 points ahead of second ranked Argentina. This moved them up one from their previous rank, second. The Azzurri had not received such an honour since 1993.[66]

In Euro 2008, the Azzurri lost 0–3 to the Netherlands. The following game against Romania ended 1–1, with a goal by Christian Panucci that came only one minute after Romania's Adrian Mutu capitalized on a mistake by Gianluca Zambrotta to give Romania the lead.[67] The result was preserved by Gianluigi Buffon who saved a penalty kick from Mutu in the 80th minute.[67]

The final group game against France, a rematch of the 2006 World Cup Final, was a 2–0 Italy win. Andrea Pirlo scored from the penalty spot after a foul and red card for France defender Éric Abidal, and later a free kick by Daniele De Rossi took a deflection resulting Italy's second goal. Romania, entering the day a point ahead of the Italians in Group C, lost to the Netherlands 2–0, allowing Italy to pass into the quarter finals against eventual champions Spain, where they lost 2–4 on penalties after a 0–0 draw after 120 minutes. Within a week after the game, Roberto Donadoni's contract was terminated and Marcello Lippi was rehired as coach.[68]

By virtue of winning the World Cup, Italy qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, held in South Africa in June 2009. They won their opening match 3–1 against the United States, but subsequent defeats to Egypt (0–1) and Brazil (0–3) meant that they only finished third in the group on goals scored, and were eliminated.

The national football team of Italy qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after playing home games at Stadio Friuli, Stadio Via del Mare, Stadio San Nicola, Stadio Olimpico di Torino and Stadio Ennio Tardini. In October 2009, they achieved qualification after drawing with the Republic of Ireland 2–2. On 4 December 2009, the draw for the World Cup was made: Italy would be in Group F alongside three underdog teams: Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia.

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, reigning champions Italy were unexpectedly eliminated in the first round, finishing last place in their group. After being held to 1–1 draws by Paraguay and New Zealand, they suffered a 3–2 loss to Slovakia.[69] It was the first time Italy failed to win a single game at a World Cup finals tournament, and in doing so became the third nation to be eliminated in the first round while holding the World Cup crown, the first one being Brazil in 1966 and the second France in 2002.[70] Spain would become the fourth at the 2014 World Cup.[71] Coincidentally, France who had been Italy's adversaries and the losing finalist in the 2006 World Cup, were also eliminated without winning a game in the first round in South Africa, making it the first time ever that neither finalist of the previous edition were able to reach the second round.[72]

2010–2014: European Championship runners-up

The national football team of Italy before the UEFA Euro 2012 Final, Olympic Stadium, Kiev, 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.[73] Italy began their campaign with Prandelli with a disappointing 0–1 loss to the Ivory Coast in a friendly match.[74] Then, during a Euro 2012 qualifier, Italy came back from behind to defeat Estonia 2–1. In the next Euro qualifier, Italy dominated the Faroe Islands 5–0. Italy then tied 0–0 with Northern Ireland. Five days later, Italy played Serbia; however, Serbian fans in Stadio Luigi Ferraris began to riot, throwing flares and shooting fireworks onto the pitch, subsequently causing the abandonment of the game.[75] Upon UEFA Disciplinary Review, Italy was awarded a 3–0 victory that propelled them to the top of their group.[76] In their first match of 2011, Italy drew 1–1 a friendly with Germany at Dortmund, in the same stadium where they beat Germany 2–0 to advance to the final of the 2006 World Cup. In March 2011, Italy won 1–0 over Slovenia to again secure its spot at the top of the qualification table. They then defeated Ukraine 2–0 in a friendly, despite being reduced to ten men for the late stages of the match. With their 3–0 defeat of Estonia in another Euro 2012 qualifier, Prandelli's Italy secured the table lead and also achieved 9 undefeated games in a row since their initial debacle. The streak was ended on 7 June 2011 by Trapattoni's current charges, the Republic of Ireland, with Italy losing 0–2 in a friendly in Liège.

At the beginning of the second season under coach Prandelli, on 10 August 2011, Italy defeated the reigning world champions Spain for 2–1 in a friendly match played in Bari's Stadio San Nicola, but lost in a friendly to the United States, 1–0, on home soil on 29 February 2012.[77]

Italy started their Euro 2012 campaign with a 1–1 draw to current reigning European and world champions Spain. Following this they met Croatia and were also held to a 1–1 draw. They finished second in their group behind Spain by beating the Republic of Ireland 2–0, which earned them a quarter final match against the winners of group D, England. After a mostly one-sided affair in which Italy failed to take their chances, they managed to best England on penalty kicks, even though they were down early in the shootout. A save by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon put them ahead after a chip shot from Andrea Pirlo. Prandelli's side won the shootout 4–2.[78][79]

In their next game, the first semi-final of the competition, they faced Germany team who were tipped by many to be the next European champions.[80][81][82][83][84] However, two first-half goals by Mario Balotelli saw Germany sent home, and the Italians went through to the finals to face the title defenders Spain.

In the final, however, they were unable to repeat their earlier performance against Spain, falling 4–0 to lose the championship. Prandelli's men were further undone by the string of injuries which left them playing with ten men for the last half-hour, as substitute Thiago Motta was forced to go off after all three substitutions had been made.[85]

During the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, Italy started in a group with Mexico, Japan and Brazil. After beating Mexico 2–1 and Japan 4–3, Italy eventually lost their final group game against tournament hosts Brazil 4–2. Italy then faced Spain in the semi-finals, in a rematch of the Euro 2012 final. Italy lost 7–6 (0–0 after extra time) in a penalty shoot-out after Leonardo Bonucci failed to score his kick.[86] Prandelli was praised for his tactics against the current World Cup and European champions.[87] Italy was then able to win the match for the third place by defeating Uruguay with the penalty score of 5–4 (2–2 after extra time).

Italy was drawn in UEFA Group B for the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign. They won the qualifying group without losing a match. Despite this successful run they were not seeded in pot 1 for the final seeding. In December 2013, Italy was drawn in Group D against Costa Rica, England and Uruguay. In its first match, Italy defeated England 2–1. However, in the second group stage match, underdogs Costa Rica beat the Italians 1–0.[88] In Italy's last group match, they were knocked out by Uruguay 1–0, due in part to two controversial calls from referee Marco Antonio Rodríguez (Mexico): in the 59th minute, midfielder Claudio Marchisio was sent off for a questionable tackle.[89][90] Later in the 80th minute, with the teams knotted at 0–0 which would have sent Italy to the next round, Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez bit defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder but was not sent off.[91][92] Uruguay went on to score moments later in the 81st minute with a Diego Godín header from a corner kick, winning the game 1–0 and eliminating Italy. This marked Italy's second consecutive failure to reach the round of 16 at the World Cup finals. Shortly after this loss, coach Cesare Prandelli resigned.[93]

2014–2016: Euro 2016 campaign

The successful former Juventus manager Antonio Conte was selected to replace Cesare Prandelli as coach after the 2014 World Cup. Conte's debut as manager was against 2014 World Cup semi-finalists the Netherlands, in which Italy won 2–0. Italy's first defeat under Conte came ten games in to his empowerment from a 1–0 international friendly loss against Portugal on 16 June 2015.[94] On 10 October 2015, Italy qualified for Euro 2016, courtesy of a 3–1 win over Azerbaijan;[95] the result meant that Italy had managed to go 50 games unbeaten in European qualifiers.[96] Three days later, with a 2–1 win over Norway, Italy topped their Euro 2016 qualifying group with 24 points; four points clear of second placed Croatia.[97] However, with a similar fate to the 2014 World Cup group stage draw, Italy were not top seeded into the first pot. This had Italy see a draw with Belgium, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland in Group E.[98]

On 4 April 2016, it was announced that Antonio Conte would step down as Italy coach after Euro 2016 to become head coach of English club Chelsea at the start of the 2016–17 Premier League season.[99] The 23-man squad saw notable absences with Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco controversially left out[100] and Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti omitted due to injury.[101][102] Italy opened Euro 2016 with a 2–0 victory over Belgium on 13 June.[103] Italy qualified for the round of 16 with one game to spare on 17 June with a lone goal by Éder for the victory against Sweden; the first time they won the second group game in a major international tournament since Euro 2000.[104] Italy also finished top of the group for the first time in a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup.[105] Italy defeated reigning European champions Spain 2–0 in the round of 16 match on 27 June.[106] Italy then faced off against the reigning World champions, rivals Germany, in the quarter-finals. Mesut Özil opened the scoring in the 65th minute for Germany, before Leonardo Bonucci converted a penalty in the 78th minute for Italy. The score remained 1–1 after extra time and Germany beat Italy 6–5 in the ensuing penalty shoot-out. It was the first time Germany overcame Italy in a major tournament.[107][108]

2016–present: 2018 World Cup campaign

After Conte's departure, Gian Piero Ventura took over as manager for the team, on 18 July 2016, signing a two-year contract.[109] His first match at the helm was a friendly against France, held at the Stadio San Nicola on 1 September, which ended in a 3–1 loss.[110] Four days later, he won his first competitive match in charge of Italy, the team's opening 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Israel, at Haifa which ended in a 3–1 victory for Italy.[111]

Competitive record

For the all-time record, see Italy national football team all-time record.

  Champions    Runners-up    Third Place    Fourth Place  

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Italy at the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter – – – – – –
Italy 1934 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 12 3 1 1 0 0 4 0
France 1938 Champions 1st 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 Final 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 11 7 2 2 21 9
Qatar 2022 TBD
Total 4 Titles 18/20 83 45 21 17 128 77 108 74 25 9 221 69
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty shoot-out.
**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.
***Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

UEFA European Championship

Main article: Italy at the UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 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 6 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 Final 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 Final 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 Final 5th 5 3 1 1 6 2 10 7 3 0 16 7
Europe 2020 TBD
Total 1 Title 9/15 38 16 16 6 39 27 106 64 30 14 187 72
*Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shoot-out.
**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.
***Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Squad
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[112]
Germany 2005 Did Not Qualify
South Africa 2009 Group Stage 5th 3 1 0 2 3 5 Squad
Brazil 2013 Third Place 3rd 5 2 2 1 10 10 Squad
Russia 2017 Did Not Qualify
Total Third Place 2/10 8 3 2 3 13 15 -
*Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty shoot-out.

Kit history

For Italy's kit history, see Italy national football team kit history.

Honours

This is a list of honours for the senior Italian national team
  • Third place (1): 2013

Unofficial trophies:

Trophies

Competition 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total
World Cup 4 2 1 7
Olympic Games 1 0 2 3
European Championship 1 2 1 4
Confederations Cup 0 0 1 1
Central European International Cup 2 2 0 4
Total 8 6 5 19

Coaching staff

Main article: List of Italy national football team managers

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 by the coaches only.

For this reason, the coach of the Italian national team is still called Technical Commissioner (Commissario tecnico or CT, the use of this denomination has since then expanded into other team sports in Italy).

  • Technical Commission (1910–1912)
  • Vittorio Pozzo (1912)
  • Technical Commission (1912–1924)
  • Vittorio Pozzo (1924)
  • Technical Commission (1924–1925)
  • Augusto Rangone (1925–1928) — Central European International Cup Champions 1927–30, Third Place Summer Olympics 1928
  • Carlo Carcano (1928–1929)
  • Vittorio Pozzo (1929–1948) — Central European International Cup Champions 1927–30, Central European International Cup Champions 1933–35, World Champions 1934, First Place Summer Olympics 1936, World Champions 1938, Runners-Up Central European International Cup 1931–32, Central European International Cup 1936–38[nb 1]
  • Ferruccio Novo (1949–1950) — as Technical Commission Chairman
  • Technical Commission (1951)
  • Carlino Beretta (1952–1953)
  • Technical Commission (1953–1959)
  • Giuseppe Viani (1960)
  • Giovanni Ferrari (1960–1961)
  • Technical Commission (1962)
  • Edmondo Fabbri (1962–1966)
  • Technical Commission (1966–1967)
  • Ferruccio Valcareggi (1967–1974) — European Champions 1968, Runners-Up World Cup 1970
  • Fulvio Bernardini (1974–1975)
  • Enzo Bearzot (1975–1986) — World Champions 1982, 4th Place World Cup 1978, 4th Place European Championship 1980
  • Azeglio Vicini (1986–1991) — Semifinalist European Championship 1988, Third Place World Cup 1990
  • Arrigo Sacchi (1991–1996) — Runners-Up World Cup 1994
  • Cesare Maldini (1997–1998)
  • Dino Zoff (1998–2000) — Runners-Up European Championship 2000
  • Giovanni Trapattoni (2000–2004)
  • Marcello Lippi (2004–2006) — World Champions 2006
  • Roberto Donadoni (2006–2008)
  • Marcello Lippi (2008–2010)
  • Cesare Prandelli (2010–2014) — Runners-Up European Championship 2012, Third Place Confederations Cup 2013
  • Antonio Conte (2014–2016)
  • Gian Piero Ventura (2016–)

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Main article: Italy national football team results (2010–29)

  Win   Draw   Loss

2017

24 March 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Italy  2–0  Albania Palermo, Italy
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) De Rossi 12' (pen.)
Immobile 71'		 Report Stadium: Stadio Renzo Barbera
Attendance: 33,136
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
28 March 2017 Friendly Netherlands  1–2  Italy Amsterdam, Netherlands
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) Romagnoli 10' (o.g.) Report Éder 11'
Bonucci 32'		 Stadium: Amsterdam Arena
Attendance: 42,000
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
7 June 2017 Friendly Italy  3–0  Uruguay Nice, France
21:00 CEST (UTC+02:00) Giménez 7' (o.g.)
Éder 82'
De Rossi 90+3' (pen.)		 Report Stadium: Allianz Riviera
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Clément Turpin (France)
11 June 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Italy  5–0  Liechtenstein Udine, Italy
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) Insigne 35'
Belotti 52'
Éder 75'
Bernardeschi 83'
Gabbiadini 90+1'		 Report Stadium: Stadio Friuli
Attendance: 20,514
Referee: Kevin Clancy (Scotland)
2 September 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Spain  3–0  Italy Madrid, Spain
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) Isco 13', 40'
Morata 77'		 Report Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Attendance: 66,328
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
5 September 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Italy  1–0  Israel Reggio Emilia, Italy
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) Immobile 53' Report Stadium: Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore
Attendance: 15,507
Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)
6 October 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Italy  1–1  North Macedonia Turin, Italy
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) Chiellini 40' Report Trajkovski 77' Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino
Attendance: 23,000
Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)
9 October 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Albania  0–1  Italy Shkodër, Albania
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) Report Candreva 73' Stadium: Loro Boriçi Stadium
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)
10 November 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Sweden  1–0  Italy Solna, Sweden
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) Johansson 61' Report Stadium: Friends Arena
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)
13 November 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Italy  v  Sweden Milan, Italy
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) Report Stadium: San Siro

2018

23 March 2018 Friendly Italy  v  Argentina Naples, Italy
CET (UTC+01:00) Stadium: Stadio San Paolo
27 March 2018 Friendly England  v  Italy TBD, England
CEST (UTC+02:00)

Players

Main article: List of Italy international footballers

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification play-off matches against Sweden on 10 November 2017 and 13 November 2017.[113]
Caps and goals as of 10 November 2017, after the match against Sweden.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Gianluigi Buffon (captain) (1978-01-28) 28 January 1978 (age 46) 175 0 Italy Juventus
12 1GK Gianluigi Donnarumma (1999-02-25) 25 February 1999 (age 25) 4 0 Italy Milan
14 1GK Mattia Perin (1992-10-11) 11 October 1992 (age 32) 1 0 Italy Genoa
2 2DF Daniele Rugani (1994-07-26) 26 July 1994 (age 30) 4 0 Italy Juventus
3 2DF Giorgio Chiellini (1984-08-14) 14 August 1984 (age 40) 96 8 Italy Juventus
4 2DF Matteo Darmian (1989-12-02) 2 December 1989 (age 34) 36 1 England Manchester United
13 2DF Davide Astori (1987-01-07) 7 January 1987 (age 37) 14 1 Italy Fiorentina
15 2DF Andrea Barzagli (1981-05-08) 8 May 1981 (age 43) 73 0 Italy Juventus
19 2DF Leonardo Bonucci (1987-05-01) 1 May 1987 (age 37) 75 5 Italy Milan
21 2DF Davide Zappacosta (1992-06-11) 11 June 1992 (age 32) 7 0 England Chelsea
2DF Leonardo Spinazzola (1993-03-25) 25 March 1993 (age 31) 5 0 Italy Atalanta
2DF Danilo D'Ambrosio (1988-09-09) 9 September 1988 (age 36) 1 0 Italy Internazionale
5 3MF Roberto Gagliardini (1994-04-07) 7 April 1994 (age 30) 3 0 Italy Internazionale
6 3MF Antonio Candreva (1987-02-28) 28 February 1987 (age 37) 52 7 Italy Internazionale
7 3MF Jorginho (1991-12-20) 20 December 1991 (age 32) 3 0 Italy Napoli
8 3MF Alessandro Florenzi (1991-03-11) 11 March 1991 (age 33) 25 2 Italy Roma
10 3MF Lorenzo Insigne (1991-06-04) 4 June 1991 (age 33) 21 3 Italy Napoli
16 3MF Daniele De Rossi (1983-07-24) 24 July 1983 (age 41) 117 21 Italy Roma
18 3MF Marco Parolo (1985-01-25) 25 January 1985 (age 39) 34 0 Italy Lazio
20 3MF Federico Bernardeschi (1994-02-16) 16 February 1994 (age 30) 12 1 Italy Juventus
22 3MF Stephan El Shaarawy (1992-10-27) 27 October 1992 (age 32) 22 3 Italy Roma
3MF Marco Verratti (1992-11-05) 5 November 1992 (age 31) 24 1 France Paris Saint-Germain
9 4FW Andrea Belotti (1993-12-20) 20 December 1993 (age 30) 12 4 Italy Torino
11 4FW Ciro Immobile (1990-02-20) 20 February 1990 (age 34) 30 7 Italy Lazio
17 4FW Éder Citadin (1986-11-15) 15 November 1986 (age 37) 26 6 Italy Internazionale
23 4FW Manolo Gabbiadini (1991-11-26) 26 November 1991 (age 32) 11 2 England Southampton
4FW Simone Zaza (1991-06-25) 25 June 1991 (age 33) 16 1 Spain Valencia

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Italy squad within the last 12 months. Players that have retired from the national team and are not available for selection anymore are not displayed.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Simone Scuffet (1996-05-31) 31 May 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Italy Udinese v.  Liechtenstein, 11 June 2017
GK Alex Meret (1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Italy SPAL v.  Netherlands, 28 March 2017
DF Andrea Conti (1994-03-02) 2 March 1994 (age 30) 1 0 Italy Milan v.  Israel, 5 September 2017
DF Alessio Romagnoli (1995-01-12) 12 January 1995 (age 29) 5 0 Italy Milan v.  Uruguay, 7 June 2017 INJ
DF Emerson (1994-08-03) 3 August 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Italy Roma v.  Uruguay, 7 June 2017 INJ
DF Mattia Caldara (1994-05-05) 5 May 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Italy Atalanta v.  Uruguay, 7 June 2017 PRE
DF Alex Ferrari (1994-07-01) 1 July 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Italy Verona v.  Uruguay, 7 June 2017 PRE
DF Mattia De Sciglio (1992-10-20) 20 October 1992 (age 32) 31 0 Italy Juventus v.  Netherlands, 28 March 2017
DF Luca Antonelli (1987-02-11) 11 February 1987 (age 37) 13 0 Italy Milan v.  Germany, 15 November 2016
DF Armando Izzo (1992-03-02) 2 March 1992 (age 32) 0 0 Italy Genoa v.  Germany, 15 November 2016
MF Simone Verdi (1992-07-12) 12 July 1992 (age 32) 2 0 Italy Bologna v.  Albania, 9 October 2017
MF Bryan Cristante (1995-03-03) 3 March 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Italy Atalanta v.  Albania, 9 October 2017
MF Nicolò Barella (1997-02-07) 7 February 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Italy Cagliari v.  Albania, 9 October 2017
MF Lorenzo Pellegrini (1996-06-19) 19 June 1996 (age 28) 1 0 Italy Roma v.  North Macedonia, 6 October 2017 INJ
MF Riccardo Montolivo (1985-01-18) 18 January 1985 (age 39) 66 2 Italy Milan v.  Israel, 5 September 2017
MF Claudio Marchisio (1986-01-19) 19 January 1986 (age 38) 55 5 Italy Juventus v.  Uruguay, 7 June 2017 INJ
MF Giacomo Bonaventura (1989-08-22) 22 August 1989 (age 35) 8 0 Italy Milan v.  Germany, 15 November 2016
FW Roberto Inglese (1991-11-12) 12 November 1991 (age 32) 0 0 Italy Chievo v.  Albania, 9 October 2017
FW Nicola Sansone (1991-09-10) 10 September 1991 (age 33) 3 0 Spain Villarreal v.  Netherlands, 28 March 2017
FW Andrea Petagna (1995-06-30) 30 June 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Italy Atalanta v.  Netherlands, 28 March 2017
FW Gianluca Lapadula (1990-02-07) 7 February 1990 (age 34) 0 0 Italy Genoa v.  Germany, 15 November 2016
FW Leonardo Pavoletti (1988-11-26) 26 November 1988 (age 35) 0 0 Italy Cagliari v.  Germany, 15 November 2016

Previous squads

Main article: List of Italy national football team World Cup and European Championship squads

Records

Main article: Italy national football team records

Most capped players

Gianluigi Buffon is the most capped player in the history of Italy with 174 caps.

As of 10 November 2017, the players with the most appearances for Italy are:[114]

# Player Period Caps Goals
1 Gianluigi Buffon 1997–present 174 0
2 Fabio Cannavaro 1997–2010 136 2
3 Paolo Maldini 1988–2002 126 7
4 Daniele De Rossi 2004–present 117 21
5 Andrea Pirlo 2002–2015 116 13
6 Dino Zoff 1968–1983 112 0
7 Gianluca Zambrotta 1999–2010 98 2
8 Giorgio Chiellini 2004–present 95 8
9 Giacinto Facchetti 1963–1977 94 3
10 Alessandro Del Piero 1995–2008 91 27

Players in bold are still active.

Top goalscorers

Luigi Riva is the top scorer in the history of Italy with 35 goals.

As of 10 November 2017, the players with the most goals for Italy are:[115]

# Player Period Goals Caps Average
1 Luigi Riva (list) 1965–1974 35 42 0.83
2 Giuseppe Meazza 1930–1939 33 53 0.62
3 Silvio Piola 1935–1952 30 34 0.88
4 Roberto Baggio 1988–2004 27 56 0.48
Alessandro Del Piero 1995–2008 27 91 0.30
6 Adolfo Baloncieri 1920–1930 25 47 0.53
Filippo Inzaghi 1997–2007 25 57 0.44
Alessandro Altobelli 1980–1988 25 61 0.41
9 Christian Vieri 1997–2005 23 49 0.47
Francesco Graziani 1975–1983 23 64 0.36

Players in bold are still active.

Captains

Main article: List of Italy national football team captains

List of captaincy periods of the various captains throughout the years.[116]

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Italy national football team hat-tricks

Head to head records

For head to head records against other countries, see Italy national football team head to head.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b This edition of the tournament was interrupted due to the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938.
  2. ^ During UEFA Euro 2008, Alessandro Del Piero was named the Italian national team's 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.[117][118][119]
  3. ^ 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.[119] Although Buffon was officially named Italy's new captain in 2010,[120] following Fabio Cannavaro's retirement subsequent to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Andrea Pirlo was named the Italian national team's acting captain after the tournament (while Daniele De Rossi was named the team's second acting captain),[120][121][122] 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.[120][123][124][125]

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