Italy

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A first attempt at forming the Italian national team was made on the 30th April of 1899 when an Italian squad played in a Swiss eleven, and fell 2 to 0-2 in Torino. The team's first official game was played in Milan on the 15th of May in 1910. Italy defeated France with an average score of 6-2 the first goal of Italy's scoring through Pietro Lana. The Italian team used the (2-3-5) system, and was comprised consisting of De Simoni; Varisco, Cali; Trere, Fossati, Capello; Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, Boiocchi. It was the first team captain to be Francesco Cali.

The first victory in a formal tournament was the bronze medal at the 1928's Summer Olympics which took place in Amsterdam. In the final, after losing in the semis to Uruguay the 11-3 win against Egypt brought them to 3rd place at the event. In the 1927-29 and the 1933-35 Central European International Cup, Italy was able to claim the top spot from five Central European teams, topping the group with 11 points in both versions of the competition. Italy was also able to win it the medal of gold at the 1936 Summer Olympics by an extra time during the final gold-medal match against Austria on August 15th, 1936.

After deciding not to take part in the first World Cup (1930, in Uruguay) Uruguay won the tournament. Italy national team was successful in two consecutive games that included the competition in 1938 and 1934 under the guidance under coach Vittorio Pozzo. The team also won the role by Giuseppe Meazza, who is thought to be one of the top Italian footballers ever by certain. Italy played host to the 1934 World Cup, and played their first World Cup match in a 7-1 victory over their counterparts in the United States in Rome. Italy defeated Czechoslovakia 1-1 in extra time in the final match in Rome with goals scored from Raimundo Orsi, and Angelo Schiavio to achieve their first World cup championship in 1934. They won their second title in 1938 , with the 4-2 loss to Hungary which was won with two goals scored by Gino Colaussi, and two goals scored by Silvio Piola during the World Cup that followed. There is a rumour that, prior to the 1938 finals, the fascist Italian Premier Benito Mussolini was to have sent a message to the team, stating "Vincere O morire!" (literally translated to "Win or die"). !"). But there is no trace of a telegram like this or a message. World Cup player Pietro Rava told reporters: "No, no, this isn't real. He wrote a telegram to wish us luck, but he did not ever 'win or die.'"

The year 1949 saw the death of 10 of 11 players from the initial squad suffered fatal injuries in an air crash which was a major blow to Torino who had won all five previous Serie A titles. Italy didn't advance any beyond the initial phase of 1950's World Cup, as they were severely weakened by the disaster in the air. The team traveled via boat instead of plane, in fear of another disaster.

At the World Cup finals of 1954 and 1962, Italy failed to progress past the first round and was not able to be able to qualify for The 1958 World Cup due to a loss of 2-1 in the final match against Northern Ireland in the last game in the qualification round. Italy did not participate in the initial version of the European Championship in 1960 (then named The European Nations Cup), and was eliminated to the Soviet Union in the first round of the 1964 European Nations qualifying.

The team's participation at the 1966 World Cup was ended by losing 0-1 by North Korea. Although they were the favourites for the tournament however, the Azzurri team of 1966, which comprised Gianni Rivera as well as Giacomo Bulgarelli, were eliminated in the opening round by semi-professional North Koreans. They were Italian team was severely criticized when they returned home and North Korean scorer Pak Doo-ik was hailed by the media as being David who defeated Goliath. After Italy returned home, a raged crowd hurled tomato rotten and fruit on their bus transport in the terminal.

It was in 1968 that Italy was a participant in their very inaugural European Championship, hosting the European Championship and winning their first major tournament since 1938's World Cup, beating Yugoslavia in Rome to win the title. It was the only European Championship or World Cup final that went to replay. After an extra period, the final ended in a draw. In the days prior to penalty shootouts, the rules demanded that the game be replayed after. Italy took the victory in the replay by a 2-0 score (with goals scored by Gigi Riva as well as Pietro Anastasi) to take the trophy. The semi-final was decided by an impromptu coin toss.

The 1970 World Cup, exploiting the achievements from European winners' stars such as Giacinto Facchetti, Gianni Rivera and Gigi Riva, and bolstered by the addition of a new centre forward Roberto Boninsegna, the team could return to an World Cup final match after 32 years. They achieved this feat following an event that is among the top well-known matches in football's history, the "Game that changed the world" which was which took place in the year 1970. World Cup semifinal between Italy and West Germany that Italy won 4-3 in extra-time, and five goals of seven occurring during extra time. The Italians were later defeat by Brazil during the game's final game, which they won 4-1.

The streak of international success was ended with the 1974 World Cup, where the team was eliminated from the group stage following losing 2-1 to Poland in the final game that was played in group.

At the 1998 FIFA World Cup in Argentina the younger generation of Italian players, with the most well-known of which was Paolo Rossi, came to the world stage. Italy had the distinction of being the only nation at the tournament to defeat the final champions and hosts Argentina. Second-round matches in the second round against West Germany (0-0), Austria (1-0) and Netherlands (1-2) helped Italy to the third-placed final, in which the team was defeated Brazil with a score of 2-1. In the game that disqualified Italy out of the competition, against Netherlands Netherlands, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was defeated by a long-distance kick by Arie Haan. Zoff was blamed for his loss. Italy was the host of at the time the 80th UEFA European Football Championship, the first time it was played with 8 teams rather than four teams, which automatically qualified to host the tournament. After two draws against Spain as well as Belgium and a tinier victory by 1-0 over England, Italy were beaten by Czechoslovakia in the third-place game in penalties, 9-8, following Fulvio Collovati was not able to score his goal.

Following an incident during Serie A where some National team players like Paolo Rossi were prosecuted and suspended for betting on matches and match fixing as well as illegal betting, the Azzurri were allowed to play in an extra round in the 1982 World Cup after three uninspiring draw with Poland, Peru and Cameroon. After being widely criticized and slammed by the media, Italy's Italian team decided to have the press blackout from that point on, and the only coaches Enzo Bearzot as well as Captain Dino Zoff appointed to speak to the media. Italy was regrouped into the second round which is a death group which included Argentina as well as Brazil. In the first game, Italy prevailed 2-1 over Argentina with the goals scored by Italy that were both left-footed, came from Marco Tardelli and Antonio Cabrini. After Brazil beat Argentina by a score of 3-1 Italy had to beat Argentina 3-1 in order to progress into the semifinals. Twice Italy was in the lead thanks to Paolo Rossi's goals. However, twice Brazil returned. After Falcao scored to make it 2-2 Brazil would have gone through due to goal difference and during the final 74th minute, Rossi scored the winner with a hat-trick in a cramped penalty area, to send Italy into the semifinals following one of the most thrilling matches during World Cup history.

Italy advanced to the semi-finals, in which they beat Poland with the help of two goals scored by Rossi. In the final match, Italy played West Germany, who had been eliminated by the penalty shootout win over France. The first half was scoreless as Antonio Cabrini missed a penalty given for a Hans-Peter Brieregel incident with Bruno Conti. In the second half, Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal. During the time the Germans were moving forward in search of an equaliser Marco Tardelli and substitute Alessandro Altobelli completed two controversial counter-attacks, making it three-zero. Paul Breitner scored home West Germany's consolation goal, seven minutes after the game's end.

The Tardelli cries "Gol! Gol!" was one of the most memorable pictures of the 1982 Italy World Cup triumph. Paolo Rossi won the Golden Boot with six goals and his Golden Ball Award for the top player of the tournament. At 40, Captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the World Cup. But, Italy failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championship. Italy was then crowned the reigning champions at 1986's World Cup but were eliminated by the reigning European Champions, France, in the round of 16.

The year 1986 was the time that Azeglio Vicini became the the new head coach succeeding Bearzot. Azeglio Vicini was a new coach who gave a chance for young players, including Ciro Ferrara as well as Gianluca Valia: Sampdoria striker scored goals that earned Italy the 1988 European Championship pass. The coach also portrayed him as Altobelli's potential successor, with the same goals. Both forwards strike the ball in Germany in the semi-finals, where Soviet Union defeated the Azzurri in the semi-finals.

Italy hosts Italy's participation in the World Cup for the second time in the year 1990. The Italian attack was led by skilled players like Salvatore Schillaci and a young Roberto Baggio. Italy played most of their games in Rome and didn't concede a single goal during their opening five matches. but they fell in the semifinal in Naples to the reigning champion Argentina. Argentinian player Maradona was a player for Napoli and Napoli, made remarks prior to the game that referred to the risorsment between North and South between the two regions of Italy along with the Risorgimento calling on Neapolitans to support Argentina during the match. Italy lost 4-3 to penalties kicks after a draw of 1-1 in extra-time. Schillaci's opener in the first half was equalized in the second period by Claudio Caniggia's shot for Argentina. Aldo Serena was not able to score the penalty shot that was final, and Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea. Italy defeated England by 2-1 in the third-place match in Bari which saw Schillaci scoring the winner via penalty kick to become the top scorer of the tournament with six goals. Italy did not get into at the 1992 European Championship. Then, in November of 1993 FIFA placed Italy 1st in FIFA World Rankings for their first time since the system of ranking was first introduced in December 1992.

In 1994, at the World Cup in the United States, Italy lost the first match against Ireland 1-1 at Giants Stadium near New York City. After a 1-0 victory over Norway on the other side of New York City and a 1-1 draw against Mexico on the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Italy advanced from Group E on the basis of goals scored by the four teams that were tied with points. The round-of-16 match in the Foxboro Stadium near Boston, Italy lost 1-0 against Nigeria however, Baggio scored to save Italy with a goal at the end of the 90th minute. He also scored an extra-time penalty to secure victory. Baggio scored another goal in the final minutes against Spain in their quarter-final game in Boston to secure the win with a 2-1 score and 2 goals in the match in the match against Bulgaria during their semi-final game on the other side of New York City for another winning 2-1.

In the final match, which was played at LA's Rose Bowl stadium 2,700 miles (4,320 kilometers) as well as three times zones removed of in the Atlantic Northeast part of the United States where they had played in all of their previous games, Italy, who had the same amount of rest as Brazil was able to play 120 minutes of football without scoring and eventually relegated the game into a shootout. This was the first time that a World Cup final was settled by an penalty shootout. Italy were defeated in the shootout by a score of 3-2. Baggio who was playing with an injection of painkillers and an injured hamstring that was heavily bandaged, missed the last penalty kick of the matchby shooting into the crossbar.

After being selected to play in Euro 1996 on level points with Croatia, Italy did not get past the group stage in the final stage of the tournament. They beat Russia by a score of 2-1, but losing to Czech Republic by the same score, Italy required a victory in their final group game to advance to the quarterfinals. Gianfranco Zola failed to convert the decisive penalty that led to the draw with Germany which eventually took the tournament.

In second place ahead of England in the qualifying campaign in 1998's World Cup, Italy booked an appearance in the finals after defeating Russia during a play-off which was won by Pierluigi Casiraghi scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 aggregate win on the 15th of November, 1997. After finishing top of their group and beating Norway at the end of the round Italy had to play a shootout for a spot in the semi-finals to win their third World Cup in a row. The Italian team, in which Alessandro Del Piero and Baggio revived their controversial teametta ("relay") that was played between Mazzola and Rivera in 1970 and played future World Champions and host team, France, to a 1-1 draw in an extra period, and fell by 4-3 after a shootout. With two goals in the event, Baggio remains the only Italian player to score at least three times in the FIFA World Cup editions.

A few years after, Italy faced another penalty shootout Euro 2000 but emerged victorious over co-hosts The Netherlands in the semi-final. Italian goalkeeper Francesco Toldo saving one penalty during the match , and two in the shootout as Dutch players missed two penalties. Dutch players missed a penalty during the game, as well as one in the shootout. The shootout was a success with a score of just one penalty scored from six attempts. The striker Francesco Totti scored his penalty by using the cucchiaio ("spoon") chip. Italy ended the tournament as runners-up losing the final game 2-1 to France (to an unofficial penalty in the extra-time) after scoring an equaliser within 30 seconds of the anticipated closing time of the game. Following the loss and the loss of head coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest following criticism from AC Milan club president and politician Silvio Berlusconi.

Giovanni Trapattoni took charge of the team in July 2000 after departure of Dino Zoff. Participating in the group 8 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification process, Italy finished undefeated after having to face Romania, Georgia, Hungary and Lithuania. The final game the team won 2-0 against Ecuador thanks to a double by Christian Vieri was followed by several games that were controversial. In the game in the final match against Croatia, English referee Graham Poll did not allow two goals which resulted in a 2-1 loss for Italy. Even though two goals were ruled offside, a last-minute goal scored by Alessandro Del Piero was able to lead Italy to draw 1-1 against Mexico which was enough to make it into the knockout stage.

Co-host nation South Korea eliminated Italy in the round of 16 with the score of 1-1. The game was controversial for players from Italy's Italian team, including the striker Francesco Totti and coach Giovanni Trapattoni suggesting that there was a conspiracy to disqualify Italy from the tournament. Trapattoni even implied that FIFA of having a plan to guarantee the South Korean win so they could ensure that only one of two host countries could remain at the top of the list. The most controversial decisions of the official Byron Moreno were an early penalty handed by South Korea (saved by Buffon) and an unlucky goal scored by Damiano Tommasi, who was declared offside and the ejection of Totti after he was given two yellow cards for a suspected dive in an area called the penalty. FIFA the president Sepp Blatter stated that the linesmen were the cause of a "disaster" and acknowledged that Italy was a victim of poor offside decisions during the group games, however he denied any conspiracy claims. When he questioned the decision to dismiss Totti for a foul by Moreno, Blatter refused to blame the loss of Italy solely on the referees. He said: "Italy's elimination is not solely due to referees or linesmen who made human intentional mistakes. Italy had mistakes both in defense and during attacking."

Trapattoni continued to coach Italy during UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal. The team was led by him to a first-place finish within the group 9 beating Wales, Serbia and Montenegro, Finland and Azerbaijan. With draw with Denmark and Sweden as well as a win in the face of Bulgaria within Group C Italy lost out following an all-three-way five-point tie that was determined by the number goals scored during matches between the teams that were tied. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and then Italian football head Franco Carraro accused the Swedish and Danish teams of rigging the final result. Despite numerous requests the the then-UEFA spokeswoman Robert Faulkner said the organization did not intend to investigate the outcome.

Following his initial refusal to resign after Italy's exclusion from the tournament After the tournament, the Italian Football Federation replaced Tapattoni by Marcello Lippi.

Lippi was first introduced during a 2-0 loss at home in Iceland on August 4, 2004, but did manage to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

There is a lot of controversy in the national soccer league Italy was in the tournament for its final match as one the eight teams seeded and were grouped into Group E with Ghana as well as the United States, and the Czech Republic. Italy had a win in their first game with a 2-0 win over the African team, scoring goals scored by Andrea Pirlo and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta. FIFA the president Sepp Blatter judged the team's performance to be the top of the first two games. The second game in the group against United States ended in a 1-1 draw, with Alberto Gilardino's goal being equalized by Cristian Zaccardo's goal. In the game, De Rossi was sent off and was later given an eight-match suspension for the elbow he landed on American forward Brian McBride. Italy ended up the group first after a 2-0 victory against in the Czech Republic, with goals from Marco Materazzi and Filippo Inzaghi and advanced to the knockout stages.

The round-of-16 Italy won 1-0 against Australia by scoring a penalty. Francesco Totti scoring a penalty following a decision by the official Luis Medina Cantalejo determined it was Lucas Neill fouled Fabio Grosso. Italy defeated Ukraine with a 3-0 win after having taken the lead early thanks to Gianluca Zambrotta, with additional goals scored by Luca Toni. Lippi made the win a tribute to the former Italian player Gianluca Pessotto who was hospitalized suffering from an apparent suicide plan. In the semi-finals Italy defeated hosts Germany by 2-0, scoring goals from Fabio Grosso as well as Alessandro De Piero in the closing seconds of added time.

The Azzurri have won their 4th World Cup title after defeating France in the final. French captain Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the seventh minute, before Materazzi scored on the corner kick twelve minutes after. The score was even after extra-time, Zidane was dismissed after he slapped Materazzi. Italy was able to win penalties 5-3 which saw the majority of Italian participants scoring shots.

FIFA announced seven Italian players including Gianluigi Buffon Fabio Cannavaro Gianluca Zambrotta Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni -for the tournament's 23-man All Star Team. Buffon also received the Lev Yashin Award awarded to the top goalie of the tournament. He did not concede a goal in the seven games of the tournament with the first being an own goal scored by Zaccardo and the second courtesy of Zidane's penalty in the final. He remained unbeaten for 460 straight minutes. To celebrate Italy winning their 4th FIFA World Cup, members of the squad were given Italy's Order of Merit. Cavaliere.

Marcello Lippi, who had announced his resignation just three days following winning the World Cup triumph, was replaced by Roberto Donadoni as the new coach of the Azzurri. Italy took part during the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying Group B along with France. Italy took the title, and France being the second. On February 14, 2007 Italy was ranked first in the FIFA World Rankings from second in the rankings, scoring 1,488 points. This was 37 points more than second-ranked Argentina. It was only just the second occasion in Azzurri's past that they had been ranked first and the first time was in 1993. They were also ranked first many times during 2007, as well in the months of April-June and September.

The first match of Euro 2008, the Azzurri were defeated 3-0 by the Netherlands in the first match in the stage group. The game that followed against Romania was a draw. the goal scored by Christian Panucci that came only one minute after Romania's Adrian Mutu capitalized on a mistake made by Gianluca Zambrotta and gave Romania the advantage. The score was held through Gianluigi Buffon who saved a penalty kick by Mutu at the end of 80 minutes. The final game in the group, against France in a rematch from in 2006's World Cup Final, was an 2 - 0 Italy victory. Andrea Pirlo scored from the penalty spot following the red card was issued for a foul against France the defender Eric Abidal, and later a free kick from Daniele De Rossi took a deflection that resulted in the second goal scored by Italy. Romania had entered the game with a lead of one point over the Italians in the group C and lost to the Netherlands 2 to 1, allowing Italy to advance to the quarterfinals against the eventual champions Spain and lost 2-4 in penalties following the game ended in a match after 120 minutes. After a week of the match, Roberto Donadoni's contract was ended and Marcello Lippi was reinstated as the coach.

Italy was able to participate in their first FIFA Confederations Cup held in South Africa in June 2009 because they won their 2006 World Cup. They won their first match of the tournament with 3-1 over their American counterparts. United States, but subsequent defeats against Egypt (0-1) in addition to Brazil (0-3) resulted in they finished in the third position in the group with goals scored and they were eliminated.

The team was in the finals of October, 2009 and earned qualification following a draw against Ireland Republic of Ireland 2-2. On December 4, 2009 it was announced that the draw to the World Cup was made: Italy will be placed in Group F with three teams who were underdogs: Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia. In the 2010, World Cup in South Africa the champions Italy were eliminated by surprise in the opening round, finishing last among their groups. In the first round, after being taken to draws of 1-1 against Paraguay as well as New Zealand, they suffered an 3-2 defeat to Slovakia. This was the first time that Italy did not win even one game in an World Cup finals tournament, and as a result, became the third country to be eliminated from the first round , while still being the holder of the World Cup crown; the first time was Brazil in 1966, and the next one was France that was eliminated in 2002. In a coincidental way, France who were Italy's rivals and also the loser at this year's World Cup, were also eliminated without winning a match in the opening round at South Africa, making it the first time that neither finalist from the previous tournament was successful in making it to the next round.

Marcello Lippi stepped down after Italy's World Cup campaign and was replaced by Cesare Prandelli. the successor to Lippi had been named prior to the tournament. Italy started their World Cup campaign under Prandelli after a 1-0 loss in Italy's Ivory Coast in a friendly match. At an Euro 2012 qualifier, Italy was able to come back from behind to beat Estonia by a score of 2-1. In the following Euro qualifying match, Italy dominated the Faroe Islands by 5-0. Italy was then tied at 1-1 against Northern Ireland. Five days after, Italy played Serbia; However, Serbian fans in Stadio Luigi Ferraris began to protest with flares and shooting fireworks into the field which led to the suspension of the match. After a UEFA Disciplinary Review, Italy won 3-0 which put them at an upper position in the group. In their first game of the year, Italy drew 1-1 a friendly against Germany at Dortmund at the same stadium that they defeated Germany by 2-0 to make it into the semifinals of 2006's World Cup. In March of 2011, Italy won 1-0 over Slovenia to secure its place on top of the qualifying table. Then, they beat Ukraine by 2-0 in a friendly, despite having to be reduced to ten players in the latter moments of the game. In their 3-0 loss to Estonia in a second Euro 2012 qualifier, Prandelli's Italy took the top spot in the table and also won 9 unbeaten games for the second time in succession since their first defeat. The streak came to an end 7 June 2011 when they were defeated by Trapattoni's current team of that of the Republic of Ireland, with Italy losing 2-0 during a friendly game in Liege.

In the first game in the 2nd season of coach Prandelli on the 10th of august 2011, Italy beat the world's champions Spain with a score of 2 - 1 in a friendly game held at the Bari's Stadio San Nicola, but they lost in a friendly match against America United States, 1-0, on their home turf on February 29. Italy began the Euro 2012 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Spain and, following the match, they played 1-1 with Croatia. They placed 2nd in the group after Spain after beating Ireland Republic of Ireland 2-0, and earned them a quarterfinal match against the winner of group D England. In a game that was mostly one-sided that saw Italy didn't take advantage of the advantage, they were able to defeat England by penalty kicks even though they fell behind in the shootout early. A goalkeeper's save Gianluigi Buffon gave them the lead after a shot by Andrea Pirlo. Prandelli's team won in the shootout, 4-2. In their next match in the semi-finals, which was the first of the tournament they took on the Germany team that was predicted by many to become one of the future European champions. However, two goals in the first half from Mario Balotelli saw Germany sent back to their home and the Italians were able to progress into the finals to take on the title-defending side Spain. The final was a disappointment for them as they failed to replicate their previous performance against Spain and lost 4-1 to fall short of winning the title. Prandelli's team were further damaged due to a string of injuries that left them with only ten players for the final half-hour when substitute Thiago Motta had to quit after three substitutions were completed.

In the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, Italy was in a group along with Mexico, Japan and Brazil. After defeating Mexico with a score of 2-1 as well as Japan by a score of 4-3, Italy ended up losing their last group match against host Brazil 4-2. Italy was then matched against Spain for the semifinals in a replay of the Euro 2012 final. Italy was defeated 7-6 (0-0 after extra time) in the penalty shoot-out following Leonardo Bonucci failed to score his goal. Prandelli was highly praised for his tactical approach with the currently World Cup and European champions. Italy could take the game to third spot by beating Uruguay by a penalty score 5-4 (2-2 after extra time). Italy was a part of UEFA Group B for the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign. They were the winners of the qualifying group, without losing any game. Despite their great run, they weren't seeded into the 1st pot for the final seeding. The month of December 2013 was when Italy got drawn into Group D, which included Costa Rica, England and Uruguay. Although Italy beat England by a score of 2-1 in the first match, the underdogs Costa Rica beat the Italians with a 1-0 win in the second group stage game. In Italy's final group game they were beaten by Uruguay by 1-0 due to two controversial calls by the referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez (Mexico). In the 59th minuteof the match, the midfielder Claudio Marchisio was sent off for an unconvincing tackle. Then, in the 80th minute with the score at 0-0 and the possibility of having the game relegated Italy into the second round Uruguayan player Luis Suarez hit the defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder but was not removed from the field. Uruguay scored just moments later in the 81st second minute thanks to the help of a Diego Godin header from a corner kick, and won the game by 1-0 and removing Italy. It was the second time in a row that Italy has suffered inability to make it through into the group of 16 in the World Cup finals. Following this loss the coach Cesare Prandelli resigned.

The highly successful former Juventus director Antonio Conte was selected to succeed Cesare Prandelli in the role of coach following the 2014 World Cup. Conte's managerial debut was against the 2014 World Cup semi-finalists the Netherlands where Italy defeated them the match 2-0. The first loss for Italy under Conte was a mere ten games prior after his promotion following the loss of 1-0 in an international friendly against Portugal on June 16, 2015. On October 10, 2015, Italy was able to qualify to play in Euro 2016, courtesy of winning 3-1 against Azerbaijan and the result signified that Italy was able to complete 50 games without losing in European qualifying matches. The next day, following an 2-1 victory against Norway, Italy topped their Euro 2016 qualifying group with 24 points. This was four points ahead of the second-placed Croatia. Similar to those who were in the previous World Cup group stage draw, Italy were not top placed in the first group. This made Italy draw alongside Belgium, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland in Group E.

On April 4, 2016 it was declared it was announced that Antonio Conte would step down as Italy coach following Euro 2016 to become head coach of English club Chelsea at the beginning of 2017 Premier League season. The 23-man team that was initially criticized by supporters and the media for its style of play and lack of performance, also saw some notable absences , with Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco who were controversially left out, as well Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti were omitted due injury. Italy started Euro 2016 with a 2-0 victory against Belgium on June 13. Italy was able to qualify to play in the Round of 16, with one match remaining on the 17th of June, with the sole goal scored by Eder to win against Sweden and Sweden for the first time they have won the second game of their group in the major international event after Euro 2000. Italy also came out on top of their Group for the first time at an important competition since their 2006 World Cup. Italy beat reigning European champions Spain by 2-0 in the round of 16 game on the 27th of June. Italy was then matched against the current World champions, as well as rivals Germany in the quarterfinals. Mesut Ozil scored the opening goal at the 65th minute of Germany while Leonardo Bonucci converted a penalty in the 78th minute of Italy. The score was 1-1 after extra time , and Germany defeated Italy 6-5 in the subsequent penalty shoot-out. This was for the first time that Germany defeated Italy in the major tournament.

The 2018. FIFA World Cup qualification Italy was placed in the second pot because they were 17th within the FIFA World Rankings at the date of the draw; Italy were drawn with Spain from the first pot on the 25th of July, 2015. Following Conte's departure from the team following Euro 2016, Gian Piero Ventura was appointed manager of the team on July 18, 2016 and signed a two-year contract. The first game that he played under his manager's helm was a friendly match against France that was played in the Stadio San Nicola on the 1st of September. It ended in an unbeatable 3-1 defeat. A few days later He was victorious in his first game as head of Italy which was the team's inaugural season-long FIFA World Cup qualifier against Israel in Haifa and ended with the team winning 3-1 for Italy.

After Italy had won all their qualifying matches, they only lost one draw at home against Macedonia and an 1-1 draw against Spain in their home stadium on October 6, 2016 and a 3-0 defeat at home to Spain on the 2nd of September in 2017 Italy was placed in Group G with a second-place finish just five points ahead of Spain. Italy was then forced to play a playoff against Sweden. Following a loss of 1-0 to Sweden on 13 November 2017 Italy did not be able to qualify for in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the first time they've failed to make it to their first World Cup since 1958. After the game it was announced that the veteran players Andrea Barzagli, Daniele De Rossi, and captain Gianluigi Buffon declared their resignation from Italy's national team. On the 15th of November, 2017 Ventura had been dismissed from his position as head coach. [156] Then on 20 November 2017 Carlo Tavecchio resigned as president of the Italian Football Federation.

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On February 5, 2018, on February 5, 2018, Italy U21 coach Luigi Di Biagio was appointed as the caretaker manager for Italy's senior squad. 17 March 2018 despite the decision to retire by the veterans Buffon and Chiellini they both were invited to Italy's March 2018 friendly matches by the interim manager Di Biagio. After the March friendly matches with Argentina and England where Italy was defeated and drawn respectively, on April 12, 2018 Italy was down six positions to its low FIFA World Ranking at the time, slipping to 20th position. On May 14, the 14th of May, Roberto Mancini was announced as the new manager. On the 28th of May, the 28th of May Italy had their debut win under Mancini with a 2-1 win in a friendly against Saudi Arabia. On the 16th of August when they were ranked in the FIFA World Ranking that followed the 2018 World Cup, Italy dropped two spots to their lowest-ever ranking at 21st. On the 7th of September, Italy participated in the first UEFA Nations League, drawing their first game during the event in Bologna against Poland at Bologna with 1-1.

On the 12th of October, Italy qualified for Euro 2020 with three games left following a 2-0 win at home against Greece. On the 18th of November, Italy finished Group J with ten wins across 10 games, making it sixth team to be selected for an European Championship with a perfect record. This is the seventh occasion, following France (1992 in 2004 and 1992), Czech Republic (2000), Germany, Spain (both 2012) as well as England (2016). On March 17, 2020, UEFA announced it was Euro 2020 had been postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 virus that has spread across Europe.

On November 18, 2020, with a 2-0 win away against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy was the top spot in their UEFA Nations League group and qualified for the finals for the event.

In June 2021, Italy began its participation in the UEFA Euro 2020 in Group A, alongside Switzerland, Turkey, and Wales. As one of the host countries, Italy played all three group matches in their home stadium at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Italy started this tournament by securing a 3-0 victory against Turkey and Turkish defensive player Merih Demiral scoring the own-goal to grant Italy Italians an advantage in the 52nd minute prior to Ciro Immobile scored and Lorenzo Insigne netted two further goals. Italy were able to defeat the highly defensive Switzerland by a 3-0 win that saw Manuel Locatelli scoring twice and Ciro Immobile scoring the third goal to secure a spot in the knockout stage with one game left even with the captain Giorgio Chiellini suffering an injury. After having already secured a spot in the knockout stage, Italy beat Wales 1-0 with a heavily rotated team that included Matteo Pessina scoring the only goal in the first period to ensure that the team finished with a perfect record during this group phase. Italy made history as the very first side at the European Championship history to win every match in the group stage without conceding.

The round-of-16 match that took place in Wembley Stadium, Italy struggled against Austria but it was only during the opening second period in extra-time the Italian substitutions Federico Chiesa and Pessina each scored a goal, giving Italy an 2-0 advantage. Despite the substitute Sasa Kalajdzic securing a goal for Austria during the second half in extra-time (the first time that Austria conceded a goal to the Italians during the competition), Italy held on to make it through to the quarter-finals. Italy's quarterfinal match against Belgium which was played at the Munich's Allianz Arena, saw strong Italian dominance. Nicolo Barella defeated Thibaut Courtois in the 31st minute. Insigne added to Italy's lead within the 43rd minute, scoring a powerful strike. Belgium's Romelu Lukaku made a great penalty in the final minutes of the half. Despite an injury to the Achilles during the second half of Leonardo Spinazzola that ruled him out for the remainder of the tournament Italy continued to hold the lead and eliminated the Belgians. This victory was a record-breaking win in terms of longest European Championship winning streak at 15 in both qualifying as well as the final tournament. Italy returned to Wembley to take on Spain during the semi-finals. This was the fourth time in a row at the European Championship where the two teams met. In a tense game that was that was dominated by possession football Italy was able to score the winning goal from Chiesa at the end of 60 minutes but twenty minutes later, Alvaro Morata scored for Spain to tie the match at 1-1. There were no further goals scored in the extra-time period, resulting in a penalty shoot-out. the two players Locatelli as well as Dani Olmo failed to score the first penalty for their teams prior to Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Spain's fourth kick from Morata. Jorginho was the next to score a penalty to send Italy towards their first European final since the 2012 tournament.

On the 11th July of 2021, Italy took home in the UEFA Euro 2020 by a 3-1 victory in an extra shoot-out in the penalty shoot-out following an 1-1 draw (Bonucci made it 2-2 at the end of the game, resulting in the first goal that was scored from Shaw) in extra time against England at the end of the tournament that was held in London. Italy took home its third European Championship title 53 years following their first one, which they won in the home stadium in 1968. On July 16 each member of the winning team at the European Championship were presented with an Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere.

In the month of October 2021, Italy took part during Italy's participation in the UEFA Nations League Finals held in their home. On the 6th of October, Italy played the semi-final against Spain which they lost 2-1 in San Siro. The match ended the run of the record for 37 games unbeaten that lasted more than three years since the last loss. A few days later, Italy won the third-place final by a 2-1 score against Belgium in the Juventus Stadium. On November 15, 2021, Italy played 0-0 against Northern Ireland in their final 2022 World Cup qualifying Group C game and placed second just two points ahead of Switzerland. Italy had to play in the second qualifying round again.

On the 24th of March in 2022 Italy was defeated 1-0 during the semi-finals of Play-offs with North Macedonia in Palermo, at the Stadio Renzo Barbera. They failed to make it to World Cup qualification World Cup for a second consecutive time. On June 1, 2022 Italy played in the CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup Champions, which was changed to the 2022 Finalissima and lost 3-1 to Argentina on the pitch in London. Italy made it for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals on 27 September, after a 2-0 win over Hungary by 2-0 in Budapest.

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The first kit worn for Italy's national team Italy national team in their first game against France on May 15th, 1910 It was white. The decision to wear white resulted from the possibility that a final decision on the style of the jersey was not yet made the team chosen not to be an appropriate colour. This was the reason white was chosen. After two games, an international friendly game against Hungary during Milan on the 6th of January in 1911 The white shirt was substituted with blue jersey (specifically Savoy Azure) with blue as the color of the border of the Royal House of Savoy crest, which was featured in the banner that was the flag of Italy's Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) The shirt was accompanied with black shorts and white socks (which were later changed to blue). The team was later referred to in the following way: gli Azzurri (the Blues).

in the 30s and 40s Italy was wearing a dark-colored kit a decision of the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini. The first black kit was unveiled on February 17, 1935, in an friendly game in a friendly match against France on the Stadio Nazionale PNF in Rome. A blue shirt along with white shorts and black socks were worn during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin the next year. The 1938 FIFA World Cup in France the all-black uniform was worn just once in the game against France.

Following World War II, the dictatorship of the fascists fell, and monarchy became dismantled in 1946. In the same year, we witnessed the establishment of the Italian Republic, and the blue-and-white uniform was restored. It was in this year that the cross from the previous Royal House of Savoy was removed from the flag of Italy and, as a result, was removed from the badge worn by the national team which is now comprised of the tricolore. In 1954, for the FIFA World Cup, the nation's name that is in Italian, ITALIA, was set above the tricolour shield. Then, for 1982's FIFA World Cup, FIGC is the abbreviation used by FIGC, the abbreviation of Italian Football Federation, was included in the badge.

In 1983, to commemorate the success in the World Cup of the previous year Three gold stars were added to ITALIA over the tricolour which represented their 3 World Cup victories until that date. A circular emblem was unveiled, featuring three stars and the words ITALIA AND FIGC as well as the tricolour.

The first kit manufacturer to be identified was Adidas in 1974. From 2003 until 2022, the kit was produced by Puma. Since the mid-2000s an all-blue uniform, including blue shorts was occasionally employed, especially during international competitions. Following the 2005 World Cup victory, a fourth star was added to the tricolour badge. In March 2022 after nearly 20 years of Puma the announcement was made that Adidas will become Italy's kit manufacturer starting in 2023.

Italy has five major rivalries with the top footballing nations.

Their battle with Brazil is called Brazil's Clasico Mundial in Portuguese or the World Derby in English, is among two of the top soccer nations around the globe and has resulted in 9 World Cups between the two nations. Since their first encounter at the 1938 World Cup, they have played each other five times at the World Cup, most notably in the 1970 World Cup Final and the 1994 World Cup final in which Brazil defeated Brazil 4-1 and 3-2 with penalties following an uncontested draw, respectively.

The rivalry between them and Croatia is also called The Derby Adriatico or Adriatic Derby is named after the Adriatic that separates the two countries. Croatia has never lost to Italy in the majority of their games played in qualifying tournaments and in. In the Euro 2016 qualifying phase, Croatia and Italy faced off twice, and both times they were drawn. Both games were marred by trouble with the crowd caused by flares being thrown on the field, something that was also the case when both teams faced off during the 2012 European Championships. In 2002, at the FIFA World Cup, Croatia defeated Italy by 2-1 in another controversial match after the two Italian goals were exempted. In July 2018 both countries had played 8 times. Croatia has been able to win three times, while Italy has played five draws.

Their battle with France has been a fixture since the beginning game, that was played on the 15th of May in 1910, Italy's very first official game ending with a 6-2 win. The most memorable matches of 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 draw of 1-1, as well as in the 2000 European Championship, won by France with an extra-time gold goal scored by David Trezeguet.

The rivalry between Italy and Germany is not new and they have played the other five times at the World Cup, notably in the "Game of the Century" which was which was the 70th World Cup semifinal between the two nations. Italy defeated 4-3 after extra time with 5 of 7 goals occurring during extra-time. Germany have also been crowned the winners of 3 European Championships while Italy has been crowned twice. Both countries have played one another four times during their participation in the European championship, and have had the result being three draw (one German penalty shoot-out victory) and one Italian victory. Germany has never defeated Italy in an important tournament until their win during the Euro 2016 quarterfinals, on penalties (though it was statistically regarded as an draw) however, all of the other victories for Germany over Italy having been in friendly tournaments.

They have a fierce rivalry Spain often called the Mediterranean derby is a battle that has been going on since 1920. while the two countries aren't geographically close but their competition at an international level is amplified by the outstanding performances of the clubs representing them in UEFA tournaments, where both are best clubs and have both experienced periods of dominance. Following the match in the quarterfinals between these two nations during Euro 2008, the rivalry has intensified, with the most memorable match between the two teams taking place during the UEFA Euro 2012 Final, in which Spain defeated Spain 4-0.

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12 November 20212022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Italy

1–1

Switzerland

Rome, Italy

15 November 20212022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Northern Ireland

0–0

Italy

Belfast, Northern Ireland

 

24 March 20222022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Italy

0–1

North Macedonia

Palermo, Italy

29 March 2022International friendly

Turkey

2–3

Italy

Konya, Turkey

1 June 20222022 Finalissima

Italy

0–3

Argentina

London, England

4 June 20222022–23 UEFA Nations League

Italy

1–1

Germany

Bologna, Italy

7 June 20222022–23 UEFA Nations League

Italy

2–1

Hungary

Cesena, Italy

11 June 20222022–23 UEFA Nations League

England

0–0

Italy

Wolverhampton, England

14 June 20222022–23 UEFA Nations League

Germany

5–2

Italy

Mönchengladbach, Germany

23 September 20222022–23 UEFA Nations League

Italy

1–0

England

Milan, Italy

26 September 20222022–23 UEFA Nations League

Hungary

0–2

Italy

Budapest, Hungary

16 November 2022International friendly

Albania

v

Italy

Tirana, Albania

20 November 2022International friendly

Austria

v

Italy

Wien, Austria

 

23 March 2023UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Italy

v

England

Italy

26 March 2023UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Malta

v

Italy

Malta

14–15 June 20232022–23 UEFA Nations League SF

v

Netherlands

18 June 20232022–23 UEFA Nations League 3rd/F

v

showNetherlands

9 September 2023UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

North Macedonia

v

Italy

North Macedonia

12 September 2023UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Italy

v

Ukraine

Italy

14 October 2023UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Italy

v

Malta

Italy

17 October 2023UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

England

v

Italy

England

17 November 2023UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Italy

v

North Macedonia

Italy

20 November 2023UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

Ukraine

v

Italy

Ukraine

In the beginning of Italian national soccer, it became normal to have an Technical Commission to be appointed. The Commission assumed the same role coaches of the standard perform. Since 1967 the national team was solely controlled by the coach. That's why coaches of the Italy national team remains named Technical Commissioner (Italian Commissario Tecnico) (or CT. The use of the title has since been extended to other sports for teams in Italy.

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Coach: Cesare Prandelli

The final squad was announced on 1 June 2014. The squad numbers were revealed the next day.

Coach: Marcello Lippi

Head coach: Marcello Lippi

Head coach: Giovanni Trapattoni

Head coach: Cesare Maldini

Head coach:  Arrigo Sacchi

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Manager: Roberto Mancini

Italy announced a 33-man preliminary squad on 17 May 2021. The squad was extended to 34 players on 25 May, then reduced to 28 players on 30 May (with two players added and eight removed). The final squad was announced on 2 June. Stefano Sensi withdrew injured and was replaced by Matteo Pessina on 7 June. Lorenzo Pellegrini withdrew injured and was replaced by Gaetano Castrovilli on 10 June.

Manager: Antonio Conte

Italy announced their final squad on 31 May.

Manager: Cesare Prandelli

Cesare Prandelli named a provisional 32-man squad on 13 May 2012, the final day of the 2011–12 Serie A season. On 29 May 2012, Prandelli announced his final squad list, with defender Domenico Criscito not considered due to match-fixing charges.

Manager: Roberto Donadoni

Fabio Cannavaro was ruled out of the Italian squad on 2 June after he was injured in training; he was replaced by Alessandro Gamberini.

Manager: Giovanni Trapattoni

Italy named their squad on 18 May 2004.

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Head coach: Cesare Prandelli

Prandelli named his 23-man squad on 3 June 2013.

Head coach: Marcello Lippi

Manager: Roberto Mancini

Italy's final squad was announced on 30 September 2021. Ciro Immobile and Rafael Tolói withdrew injured and were replaced by Moise Kean and Davide Calabria, respectively, on 3 October. Matteo Pessina withdrew injured and was replaced by Federico Dimarco on 4 October.

Italy announced a 39-man preliminary squad on 23 May 2022. The squad was extended to 45 players on 27 May, with eight players added while Domenico Berardi and Andrea Pinamonti withdrew injured. The final squad was announced on 30 May.

Manager: Roberto Mancini

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As of 26 September 2022, the players with the most appearances for Italy are:

As of 26 September 2022, the players with the most goals for Italy are:

List of captaincy periods of the various captains throughout the years.

Enzo Bearzot: 104

Largest victory

9–0 vs. United States, 2 August 1948

Largest defeat

1–7 vs. Hungary, 6 April 1924

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*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

 

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

In the week ending 26 September 2022, the total official record of the Italian national team is 859 matches, including 458 victories, 235 draw, and 163 losses. In those matches Italy scored 1,501 goals and lost 842 goals. The highest margin of victory for Italy is nine goals. It was achieved against United States in 1948 (9-0). The longest streak of winning is 13 wins. Their unbeaten streak is 37 consecutive official matches, which is a record for the world.

• FIFA World Cup

• Winner (4): 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006
• Runner-up (2): 1970, 1994
• Third place (1): 1990
• Fourth place (1): 1978

• UEFA European Championship

• Winner (2): 1968, 2020
• Runner-up (2): 2000, 2012
• Fourth place (1): 1980

• FIFA Confederations Cup

• Third place (1): 2013

• UEFA Nations League

• Third place (1): 2020–21

• CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
  • Runner-up (1): 2022
• Olympic football tournament

• Gold Medal (1): 1936
• Bronze Medal (1): 1928

• Central European International Cup

• Winner (2): 1927–30, 1933–35
• Runner-up (2): 1931–32, 1936–38

• Laureus World Team of the Year

• Winners (2): 2007, 2022