De Rossi is the
highest scoring midfielder for the Italy national side post-
World War II, with 21 goals in 117 international appearances, and the all-time second highest-scoring midfielder for Italy, behind only
Adolfo Baloncieri. He is also the
joint fifth-most capped player for the Italy national team.
Youth and early senior career De Rossi played 16 matches for the
Italy national under-21 football team and was a regular first-team member of
the squad that won the
2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, scoring the opening goal in Italy's 3–0 win over
Serbia and Montenegro in the final. In the same year, he also won a bronze medal in football with the
Italy national football team at the
2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. A few weeks after returning from
Greece, De Rossi earned his first
cap with the Italy senior squad on 4 September 2004, scoring on his international debut in a 2–1 win against
Norway in a
2006 World Cup qualifying match, at the age of 21. He wore
Italy's captain's armband for the first time in the second half of a 0–0 friendly draw against
Iceland on 30 March 2005.
2006 World Cup De Rossi was named to
Marcello Lippi's 23-man
Italian squad for the
2006 FIFA World Cup, producing a notable performance in Italy's opening 2–0 win against
Ghana, but also picking up a booking in the tenth minute. He started once again in the second group match against the
United States; however, he received a straight
red card after he elbowed
Brian McBride in the face. McBride left the pitch bloodied but returned after treatment, later receiving three stitches. The
BBC stated that De Rossi had "disgraced himself with a sickening, needless elbow on Brian McBride." De Rossi later apologised to McBride, who subsequently praised him as "classy" for approaching him after the match. Because of the incident, De Rossi was banned for four matches, and was fined
CHF 10,000. After having been disqualified for four matches, De Rossi returned to the pitch in the
World Cup final against
France, coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute, for Roma teammate Francesco Totti. After a 1–1 deadlock following extra time, the match went to a penalty shoot-out; De Rossi scored Italy's third penalty to help his team win the shoot-out and their fourth World Cup title. At the age of 22, De Rossi was the youngest player in Italy's World Cup squad.
Euro 2008 De Rossi played in all of Italy's
Euro 2008 qualifying games under new manager
Roberto Donadoni, scoring a goal in Italy's 3–1 away win against
Georgia on 12 October 2006. After Totti decided to retire from international football following Italy's victorious 2006 World Cup final, De Rossi was also given the honour of wearing the
number 10 shirt. He also captained the team on three occasions: two
friendly matches, against
South Africa on 17 October 2007 (his first starting appearance as Italy's captain), and
Portugal on 6 February 2008, respectively, and in the Euro 2008 qualifier against the
Faroe Islands. After missing out on Italy's opening 3–0 defeat to the
Netherlands, De Rossi featured in all of Italy's remaining matches at
UEFA Euro 2008. On 17 June, he scored from a free kick which was deflected off of
Thierry Henry's left boot, as Italy defeated France 2–0 in their final group match; this was his fifth international goal, and the win guaranteed Italy's progress to the quarter-finals. De Rossi was named
Man of the Match. In the quarter-final penalty shoot-out against eventual champions
Spain, his shot was saved by
Iker Casillas as Italy lost the shoot-out 4–2 after a 0–0 draw following extra-time. He scored his first double with the national team in a 2–0 home win against
Georgia on 10 September 2008, in a
2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
2009 Confederations Cup De Rossi was named to Lippi's Italy squad for the
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and was handed the number-10 shirt for the tournament once again. In Italy's opening fixture of the competition on 15 June, De Rossi scored against the United States in the 71st minute with a low long-range strike. The goal put Italy 2–1 up after
Giuseppe Rossi had equalised, following
Landon Donovan's opener from a penalty in the first half. Italy went on to win the match 3–1, after
Andrea Pirlo set up Rossi for his second of the game; De Rossi was named
Man of the Match. Italy lost their following two games against
Egypt and
Brazil, however, and were eliminated in the first round of the tournament, following a three-way, three-point tie in their group with the United States and Egypt. Due to his performances and dedication at international level, De Rossi was tipped by several in the media to be a possible candidate for Italy's captainship after the retirement of
Fabio Cannavaro. His ability to perform well and score in important matches and his pivotal role in breaking down the opposition's play as a box-to-box midfielder won him admiration from the Italian fans. Indeed, De Rossi scored several crucial goals for Italy in their Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns; at the international level, De Rossi's goal ratio was much greater than at club level during this period, as he played mainly as a defensive midfielder for Roma, whereas he was able to play in more advanced positions for Italy, due to the presence of
Gennaro Gattuso in the team's holding midfielder role.
2010 World Cup De Rossi scored Italy's first goal of the
2010 FIFA World Cup against
Paraguay, as they drew their opening match 1–1. In the second match, against
New Zealand, after Italy were trailing by a goal, he drew a foul in the penalty area, from which
Vincenzo Iaquinta equalised, as Italy once again drew 1–1. The decision to give the penalty was criticised by some in the media, who perceived that De Rossi had
dived. Despite the controversy, De Rossi received the FIFA
Man of the Match award. The defending champions lost their final match against
Slovakia 3–2, and were eliminated in the first round of the tournament, finishing in last place in their group, without a victory.
Euro 2012 of
England in Italy's
Euro 2012 quarter-final Following Lippi's departure after the 2010 World Cup, in Italy's first match under new manager
Cesare Prandelli, a friendly against the
Ivory Coast, De Rossi was named captain, due to the injury of newly appointed captain
Gianluigi Buffon, as well as the absence of acting captain Andrea Pirlo; Italy lost the match 1–0. On 7 September, he scored his tenth goal for Italy in a 5–0 home win over the
Faroe Islands in a
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match; the goal allowed him to overtake Totti as Roma's highest goalscorer with the national side. In May 2012, De Rossi was named to Prandelli's final
23-man squad for
UEFA Euro 2012. Due to
Andrea Barzagli's pre-tournament injury, however, De Rossi played as a central defender in a three-man defence in Prandelli's 3–5–2 formation, alongside
Giorgio Chiellini and
Leonardo Bonucci, during Italy's opening two group matches of the competition against Spain and
Croatia, which both ended in 1–1 draws, receiving praise for his performances in the media; he was temporarily replaced by
Thiago Motta and
Riccardo Montolivo alongside Pirlo and Marchisio in Italy's three-man midfield. He then played a more regular midfield-role against the
Republic of Ireland in the last group match, partnering with
Claudio Marchisio and Andrea Pirlo. and also played all 90 minutes in Italy's 4–0 defeat to Spain in
the final. De Rossi was included in the Team of the Tournament for his performances.
2013 Confederations Cup In June 2013, De Rossi was called up for
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, and he scored in a 4–3 win over
Japan in Italy's second group game. The victory allowed Italy to progress to the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time in their history. Italy eventually finished the tournament in third place after a penalty shoot-out victory over
Uruguay in the bronze medal match, in which De Rossi appeared.
2014 World Cup De Rossi was included in Prandelli's final
23-man squad for the
2014 World Cup in Brazil, the only Roma player to be selected to the national team. In Italy's 2–1 opening win against England, De Rossi had a dominant match in the Italian midfield, playing in front of the defence for the entire match and completing the most passes of any player, after Andrea Pirlo, with 99. Italy dominated the possession, and with a 93.2 pass percentage, also managed to record the highest pass accuracy percentage of any team in a World Cup match since
Denmark in the
1986 FIFA World Cup. Italy lost their other two group matches 1–0, however, against
Costa Rica and Uruguay, and were eliminated in the first round for the second consecutive World Cup, finishing third in their group. De Rossi also participated in the second group match against Costa Rica, but was unable to play in Italy's 1–0 loss against Uruguay due to injury.
Euro 2016 On 4 September, under Italy's new manager
Antonio Conte, De Rossi wore the captain's armband in a 2–0 friendly home win over the Netherlands in
Bari, also scoring a goal from a penalty. On 16 November 2014, in a
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Croatia at the
San Siro in Milan, De Rossi earned his 100th cap in a 1–1 draw. On 6 September 2015, he scored from a
penalty at the six-minute mark in Italy's 1–0 victory over
Bulgaria in a Euro 2016 qualifying match in
Palermo, and was later sent off during the match for a reactionary foul; this was his second red card with Italy, which made him
Italy's most red carded player ever, alongside
Giancarlo Antognoni and
Franco Causio. On 31 May 2016, he was named to Conte's
23-man Italy squad for
UEFA Euro 2016. On 27 June, De Rossi limped off the field in the eventual 2–0 victory round of 16 match up against Spain, which caused him to miss out on the quarter final match against Germany on 2 July, in an eventual 6–5 penalty shoot-out defeat. Many believed an unfit De Rossi would have come on just for the shoot-out, but when accused of refusing to take a kick he responded, "Do I look like the type who would refuse to step-up to the spot? ... Conte didn't ask me, and that's it. I hadn't even warmed-up during the game."
2018 World Cup qualifying campaign and retirement On 24 March 2017, De Rossi scored his 20th goal for Italy from the penalty spot in a 2–0 home win over
Albania in a
2018 World Cup qualifying match; with the goal, he equalled
Paolo Rossi as Italy's twelfth-highest goalscorer of all time. On 28 March, De Rossi made his 112th appearance for Italy in a 2–1 friendly away win over the Netherlands, equalling
Dino Zoff as Italy's joint fifth-highest appearance holder; he was later forced off in the 35th minute, however, due to sustaining an injury, and was subsequently replaced by debutant
Roberto Gagliardini. On 10 November, he made his 117th international appearance in a 1–0 away defeat to
Sweden, in the first leg of the
World Cup play-offs, overtaking Pirlo as Italy's fourth-most capped player of all time; this proved to be his final international appearance. Following a 0–0 home draw in the second leg on 13 November, Italy failed to qualify for the
2018 FIFA World Cup after a 1–0 aggregate loss to Sweden. The goal that Sweden scored had taken a deflection off of De Rossi. Immediately following the second leg match, De Rossi announced his retirement from the national team. Although De Rossi did not feature during the second leg, he was at the centre of media attention due to an incident which occurred while he was on the bench. When he was asked to warm up late on during the game, he appeared to protest the decision and instead pointed angrily at Napoli forward
Lorenzo Insigne, a player whom the national side's manager,
Gian Piero Ventura, had neither started nor brought on, in spite of pressure from the Italian media and criticism from the fans; following the match, De Rossi commented on the incident, stating, "We have this tendency to warm up three at a time, then after five minutes we change and another three go. I just said we were near the end and had to win, so send the strikers to warm up! I pointed to Insigne too. It wasn't up to me whether it was a tactical issue and the Prof [Ventura] is a lovely guy, so I'm sorry if I offended anyone. I just thought perhaps it was better that Insigne come on instead." ==Style of play==