Origins and first two World Cup titles in 1934 and 1938 in
1934 An early attempt to create an Italian national team occurred on 30 April 1899, when an Italian selection played a Swiss eleven, losing 0–2 in
Turin. The
team's first official match was held in
Milan on 15 May 1910. Italy defeated
France by a score of 6–2, with Italy's first goal scored by
Pietro Lana. 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, with Calì as the team's first captain. The first success in an official tournament was the bronze medal at the
1928 Summer Olympics in
Amsterdam. After losing the semi-final against
Uruguay, an 11–3 victory against
Egypt secured third place in the competition. In the
1927–30 and
1933–35 Central European International Cup, Italy achieved first place out of five
Central European teams, topping the group with 11 points in both editions of the tournament. Italy would also later win the gold medal at the
1936 Summer Olympics with a 2–1 victory in extra time in the gold medal match over
Austria on 15 August 1936. After declining to participate in the inaugural World Cup (
1930, in Uruguay) the Italy national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in
1934 and
1938, under the direction of coach
Vittorio Pozzo and the performance of
Giuseppe Meazza, who is considered one of the best Italian football players of all time by some. Italy hosted the 1934 World Cup, and played their first ever World Cup match in a 7–1 win over the
United States in
Rome. Italy defeated
Czechoslovakia 2–1 in
extra time in the final in Rome, with goals by
Raimundo Orsi and
Angelo Schiavio to achieve their first World Cup title. They achieved their second title in 1938 in a 4–2 defeat of
Hungary, with two goals by
Gino Colaussi and two goals by
Silvio Piola in the World Cup that followed. It is rumored that before the 1938 finals
fascist Italian Prime Minister
Benito Mussolini sent a
telegram to the team, saying "Vincere o morire!" (literally translated as "Win or die!"). However, no record remains of such a telegram, and World Cup player
Pietro Rava said when interviewed: "No, no, no, that's not true. He sent a telegram wishing us well, but no never 'win or die'."
Reconstruction in the 1950s and 1960s In 1949, 10 of the 11 players in the team's initial line-up were killed in a
plane crash that affected
Torino, winners of the previous five
Serie A titles. Italy did not advance further than the first round of the
1950 World Cup, as they were weakened severely due to the air disaster. The team had travelled by boat rather than by plane, fearing another accident. In the
1954 and
1962 World Cups, Italy failed to progress past the first round, and did not qualify for the
1958 World Cup due to a 2–1 defeat to
Northern Ireland in the last match of the
qualifying round. Italy did not take part in the first edition of the
European Championship in
1960 (then known as the European Nations Cup), and was knocked out by the
Soviet Union in the first round of the
1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying. Their participation in the
1966 World Cup was ended by a 0–1 defeat at the hands of
North Korea. Despite being the tournament favourites, the
Azzurri, whose 1966 squad included
Gianni Rivera and
Giacomo Bulgarelli, were eliminated in the first round by the semi-professional North Koreans. The Italian team was bitterly condemned upon their return home, while North Korean scorer
Pak Doo-ik was celebrated as the
David who killed Goliath. Upon Italy's return home, furious fans threw fruit and rotten tomatoes at their transport bus at the airport.
European champions and World Cup runners-up (1968–1974) celebrates Italy's
UEFA Euro 1968 victory. In 1968, Italy hosted the
European Championship and won the tournament in its first participation, beating
Yugoslavia in Rome and winning their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup. The
final ended in a 1–1 draw after extra time, and the rules of the time required the match to be replayed a few days later. This would be the only time the final of the European Championship or World Cup was replayed. On 10 June 1968, Italy won the replay 2–0 (with goals from
Gigi Riva and
Pietro Anastasi) to take the trophy. In the
1970 World Cup, exploiting the performances of European champions' players like
Giacinto Facchetti, Gianni Rivera and Gigi Riva and with a new centre-forward
Roberto Boninsegna, the team were able to return to the World Cup final match after 32 years. They reached this result after one of the most famous matches in football history—the "
Game of the Century", the 1970 World Cup semifinal between Italy and West Germany that Italy won 4–3 in extra time, with five of the seven goals coming in extra time. They were later defeated by
Brazil in the
final 4–1. After losing to
Belgium in the quarter-finals to qualify for the
1972 European Championship, this generation's cycle ended at the
1974 World Cup, where the team was eliminated in the group stage after a 2–1 loss against
Poland in the last match of the group.
Third World Cup title generation (1978–1986) Under the initial guide of
Fulvio Bernardini and later that of head coach
Enzo Bearzot, a new generation of Italian players came to the international stage in the second half of the 1970s. At the
1978 World Cup, Italy was the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team
Argentina, and the
Azzurri made it to the third-place final, where they were defeated by Brazil 2–1. In the second round group stage match against the
Netherlands, which prevented Italy from reaching the final, Italian goalkeeper
Dino Zoff was beaten by a long-distance shot from
Arie Haan, and Zoff was criticised for the defeat. Italy hosted the
1980 European Championship, the first edition to be held between eight teams instead of four, 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. in a group stage game at the
1982 FIFA World Cup 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 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 criticised, 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 second group was 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, being 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. Italy took the lead twice with Paolo Rossi's goals, and twice Brazil came back. When
Falcão scored to equalise at 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. Italy then progressed to the semi-final where they defeated Poland with two goals from Rossi. In the
final on 11 July 1982, Italy met West Germany in
Madrid. The first half ended scoreless, after Antonio Cabrini missed a penalty awarded for a
Hans-Peter Briegel foul on
Bruno Conti. In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal, and while the Germans were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Marco Tardelli and substitute
Alessandro Altobelli finalised two
contropiede counterattacks to make it 3–0.
Paul Breitner scored West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes before the end. Tardelli's screaming celebration after his goal was one of the defining images of Italy's 1982 World Cup triumph. Paolo Rossi won the
Golden Boot with six goals as well as the
Golden Ball Award for the best player of the tournament, and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the World Cup. Italy subsequently failed to qualify for
UEFA Euro 1984, and then entered as reigning champions in the
1986 World Cup, but were eliminated by reigning European Champions, France, in the round of 16.
Vicini years and World Cup runners-up with Sacchi (1986–1994) In 1986,
Azeglio Vicini was appointed as new head coach, replacing Bearzot. He granted a central role to players such as
Walter Zenga and
Gianluca Vialli, and conceded a chance to young players coming from the U21 team; Vialli scored goals that gave Italy a
1988 European Championship pass, and he was shown like Altobelli's successor, having his same goal attitude. Both forwards stroke the target in Germany, where the Soviet Union defeated the
Azzurri in the semi-finals. in 1990 Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time in
1990. The Italian attack featured talented forwards
Salvatore Schillaci and a young
Roberto Baggio. Italy played nearly all of their matches in Rome and did not concede a single goal in their first five matches; however, they lost the semi-final in Naples to defending champion Argentina. Argentinian player
Diego Maradona, who played for
Napoli, made comments prior to the game pertaining to the North–South inequality in Italy and the
Risorgimento, asking Neapolitans to root for Argentina in the game. Italy lost 4–3 on penalty kicks following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Schillaci's first-half opener was equalised in the second half by
Claudio Caniggia's header for Argentina.
Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick with
Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper
Sergio Goycochea. Italy went on to defeat England 2–1 in the third-place match in Bari, with Schillaci scoring the winning goal on a penalty to become the tournament's top scorer with six goals. After failing to qualify for
UEFA Euro 1992, Vicini was replaced by former
AC Milan coach
Arrigo Sacchi, who brought a new style of play. In November 1993, FIFA ranked Italy No. 1 since the
ranking system was introduced in December 1992. Baggio scored another late goal against Spain at their quarter-final match in Boston to seal a 2–1 win and two goals against
Bulgaria in their semi-final match in New York for another 2–1 win. In the
final, which took place in
Los Angeles's
Rose Bowl stadium 2,700 miles (4,320 km) and
three time zones away from the
Northeastern United States where they had played all their previous matches, Italy, who had 24 hours less rest than Brazil, played 120 minutes of scoreless football, taking the match to a
penalty shootout, the first time a World Cup final was settled on penalties. Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3–2 after Baggio, who had been playing with the aid of a pain-killer injection and a heavily bandaged hamstring, missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.
Euro 2000 runners-up (1996–2000) Italy, still led by Sacchi, qualified for
Euro 1996 in England, but did not progress beyond the group stage. Having defeated Russia 2–1 and losing by the same score against the
Czech Republic, Italy required a victory in their final group match against Germany to progress to the quarter-finals. However,
Gianfranco Zola failed to convert a decisive penalty in a 0–0 draw against the Germans, who eventually won the tournament. Finishing second behind England in the
qualification campaign for the
1998 World Cup, Italy booked a place at the final tournament after defeating Russia in a
play-off, with
Pierluigi Casiraghi scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 aggregate victory on 15 November 1997. After finishing first in their
group and overcoming
Norway in the second round, Italy faced a penalty shoot-out in the
quarterfinals, for the third World Cup in a row. The Italian side, where
Alessandro Del Piero and Baggio renewed the controversial
staffetta () between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970, held the eventual world champions and host team,
France, to a 0–0 draw after extra time, but lost 4–3 in the shoot-out. With two goals scored in this tournament, Baggio remains the only Italian player to have scored in three different FIFA World Cups. against France Two years later, at the
Euro 2000, with four consecutive victories the team led by former captain
Dino Zoff made it all the way to the semifinals, facing another penalty shoot-out but emerging victorious over the co-hosts, the Netherlands. Italian goalkeeper
Francesco Toldo saved one penalty during the match and two in the shootout, while striker
Francesco Totti scored his penalty with a
cucchiaio () chip. Italy finished the tournament as runners-up, losing the final 2–1 against France (to a
golden goal in extra time) after conceding an equalising goal just 30 seconds before the expected end of injury time. After the defeat, coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticised by AC Milan club president and politician
Silvio Berlusconi.
Trapattoni years (2000–2004) Giovanni Trapattoni took charge of the team in July 2000 following the resignation of Dino Zoff. Playing in
Group 8 of the
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification process, Italy finished undefeated after facing
Romania,
Georgia,
Hungary and
Lithuania. In the
final tournament, a 2–0 victory against
Ecuador with a double from
Christian Vieri was followed by a series of controversial matches. During the match against
Croatia, English referee
Graham Poll incorrectly disallowed two regular goals resulting in a 2–1 defeat to Italy. Despite two goals being ruled for offsides, a late headed goal from Alessandro Del Piero helped Italy to a 1–1 draw with Mexico, proving enough to advance to the knockout stages. Co-host country
South Korea eliminated Italy in the
round of 16 by a score of 2–1. The match proved controversial with members of the Italian team, most notably striker Francesco Totti and coach
Giovanni Trapattoni, suggesting a conspiracy to eliminate Italy from the competition. 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. The most contentious decisions by the game referee
Byron Moreno were an early penalty awarded to South Korea (saved by Buffon), a
golden goal by
Damiano Tommasi incorrectly ruled
offside, and the sending off of Totti after being presented with a second yellow card for an alleged
dive in the penalty area. FIFA president
Sepp Blatter stated that the linesmen had been a "disaster" and admitted that Italy suffered from bad offside calls during the group matches, but he denied conspiracy allegations. While questioning Totti's sending off by Moreno, Blatter refused to blame Italy's loss entirely on the referees, stating: "Italy's elimination is not only down to referees and linesmen who made human not premeditated errors. Italy made mistakes both in defense and in attack." Trapattoni stayed on and guided the team at
Euro 2004 in Portugal, where after draws against
Denmark and
Sweden along with a victory over
Bulgaria in
Group C, Italy were eliminated following a three-way five point tie based on the number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams. Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon and then Italian football federation president
Franco Carraro accused the Swedish and Danish teams of fixing the result of their final match (2-2 was the result which consented both teams to advance). Despite calls, then-UEFA spokesperson Robert Faulkner said the organization would not investigate the result.
2006 World Cup victory in
Rome, after Italy scored against France congratulates coach
Lippi and captain
Cannavaro after the final match against France. The Italian Football Federation replaced Trapattoni with
Marcello Lippi. With
controversy plaguing the
domestic league, Italy entered the
2006 World Cup as one of the
eight seeded teams. Italy finished first in Group E with wins against Ghana and the Czech Republic and a draw with the United States. In the
round of 16, Italy secured a 1–0 victory over
Australia with Francesco Totti scoring a penalty. Italy overcame
Ukraine, 3–0, after taking an early lead through
Gianluca Zambrotta and additional goals coming from
Luca Toni. In the semi-finals, Italy beat hosts Germany 2–0 with goals
Fabio Grosso and
Alessandro Del Piero in the last minutes of extra time. On 9 July 2006, the
Azzurri won their fourth World Cup title after defeating France in the
final. French captain
Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the seventh minute before
Marco Materazzi scored from a corner kick, twelve minutes later. The score remained level and during extra-time and Zidane was sent off for
headbutting Materazzi. Italy went on to win the penalty shootout 5–3, with all Italian players scoring their kicks. The decisive penalty goal was scored by Grosso. FIFA named seven Italian players —
Gianluigi Buffon,
Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta,
Andrea Pirlo,
Gennaro Gattuso,
Francesco Totti and Luca Toni — to the 23-man tournament
All Star Team. 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. In honour of Italy winning a fourth World Cup, members of the squad were awarded the
Italian Order of Merit of
Cavaliere.
The decline of the world champions (2006–2010) Marcello Lippi, who had announced his resignation three days after the World Cup triumph, was replaced by
Roberto Donadoni. Italy qualified for Euro 2008 by winning their
group ahead of France. On 14 February 2007, Italy climbed to first in the
FIFA World Rankings for the second time. At
Euro 2008, the
Azzurri lost 3–0 to the Netherlands in the opening match of the group stage. The following game against
Romania ended 1–1 thanks to a penalty save from
Gianluigi Buffon. Italy would win their final group game against France 2–0, a rematch of the 2006 World Cup final. The
Azzurri were eliminated in the quarter-finals on penalties to eventual champions Spain. Within a week of the game, Roberto Donadoni's contract was terminated and Marcello Lippi was rehired as coach. Italy qualified for their first ever
FIFA Confederations Cup held in South Africa in June 2009 by virtue of winning the 2006 World Cup. They won their opening match of the
tournament against the United States, but subsequent defeats to
Egypt and Brazil meant that they finished third in the group on goals scored (points level with the US and Egypt), and were eliminated. At the
2010 World Cup in South Africa, reigning champions Italy were unexpectedly eliminated in the
first round, finishing last place in their group. After being held to 1–1 draws with
Paraguay and
New Zealand needing equalizers in both games, they suffered a 3–2 loss to
Slovakia having trailed 2-0 and 3-1. It was the first time Italy failed to win a single game at a World Cup tournament, and in doing so became only the third nation to be eliminated in the first round while being reigning World Cup champions.
Euro 2012 runners-up and fluctuating results (2010–2018) , Kyiv, 1 July 2012 Marcello Lippi stepped down after Italy's World Cup campaign and was replaced by
Cesare Prandelli, although Lippi's successor had already been announced before the tournament. At
UEFA Euro 2012, Italy finished second in their group behind Spain, which earned them a quarter-final tie against England. After a mostly one-sided affair in which Italy failed to take their chances, they managed to beat England on penalties. In the semi-final against Germany, two first-half goals by
Mario Balotelli saw the Italians through to the final. In the
final, Italy fell to a 4–0 defeat to Spain. During the
2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, Italy reached the semi-finals, losing 7–6 on penalties to Spain. Italy did manage to beat Uruguay in the third place play-off. At the
2014 FIFA World Cup, Italy defeated England 2–1 in their first match before succumbing to underdogs
Costa Rica 1–0 in the second group stage match. In Italy's last group match, they were knocked out by Uruguay 1–0, in a controversial match, where Italian player
Claudio Marchisio was controversially sent off whilst Uruguay's
Luis Suarez bit Italy's
Giorgio Chiellini without any sanction. Shortly after this loss, coach Cesare Prandelli resigned. Former
Juventus manager
Antonio Conte was selected to replace Prandelli. On 10 October 2015, Italy qualified for
Euro 2016, courtesy of a 3–1 win over
Azerbaijan; the result meant that Italy had gone 50 games unbeaten in European qualifiers. On 4 April 2016, it was announced that Antonio Conte would step down as Italy coach after Euro 2016 to become head coach of
Chelsea. The 23-man squad was initially criticised by many fans and members of the media for its lack of quality, which saw notable absences, such as Andrea Pirlo and
Sebastian Giovinco being controversially left out. Italy opened Euro 2016 with a 2–0 victory over Belgium and qualified thanks to a win against Sweden in the second match, which made their defeat 1–0 to Ireland in the final group stage match irrelevant for access to the round of 16. Italy subsequently defeated reigning European champions Spain 2–0 in the round of 16. However, Italy were defeated by reigning
world champions Germany in the quarter-finals on penalties, after a 1–1 draw.
Failure to qualify for 2018 World Cup After Conte's planned departure following Euro 2016,
Gian Piero Ventura took over as manager for the team. During
qualification for the 2018 World Cup, Italy finished second in Group G, five points behind Spain. Italy would compete in the
play-off round against Sweden, where they lost 1–0 on aggregate and therefore eliminated; the first time that Italy had failed to qualify for the World Cup since
1958. Following the match, veterans
Andrea Barzagli,
Daniele De Rossi and captain
Gianluigi Buffon all declared their retirement from the national team. On 15 November 2017, Ventura was dismissed as head coach, and on 20 November 2017,
Carlo Tavecchio resigned as president of the Italian Football Federation.
Luigi Di Biagio was called as
caretaker manager and led the team in subsequent friendlies in March 2018, including the last of Buffon's 176 appearances in a friendly against Argentina.
Second European title (2018–2021) On 14 May 2018,
Roberto Mancini was announced as the new manager. On 16 August 2018, in the first FIFA World Rankings update that followed the World Cup, Italy dropped to their lowest-ever ranking of 21st. On 18 November 2019, Italy finished
Euro 2020 qualifying with ten wins in all ten matches, becoming only the sixth side to qualify for a European Championship with a perfect record. On 17 March 2020, UEFA confirmed that
Euro 2020 would be postponed by one year due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. (right) congratulates captain
Chiellini in Rome, the day after Italy's triumph at
UEFA Euro 2020. At the delayed Euro 2020, Italy finished top of Group A, ahead of
Turkey,
Switzerland, and
Wales. Being one of the host nations, Italy played all three group games at Rome's
Stadio Olimpico, and it became the first team in European Championship history to win each group stage match without conceding. In the round of 16, Italy defeated
Austria 2–1 at
Wembley Stadium after extra time. In the quarter-finals, Italy secured a 2–1 victory over
Belgium, before beating
Spain on penalties in the semi-finals. In the
final, on 11 July 2021, Italy won the European Championship defeating hosts
England at Wembley Stadium on penalties after a 1–1 draw, for their second European title and their first since
1968. Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Donnarumma also won the
Player of the Tournament award, given to the best player of the tournament. On 16 July, all members of the European Championship-winning squad were awarded the
Italian Order of Merit of
Cavaliere. In October 2021, Italy participated in the
UEFA Nations League Finals as hosts, and lost the semi-final against Spain, 2–1 at the
San Siro. This match meant the end of the record 37-game unbeaten run and the first defeat for Italy in more than three years. Four days later, Italy won the third-place play-off, 2–1 against Belgium.
Italian football crisis (2021–present) Failure to qualify for 2022 World Cup and disappointment at Euro 2024 On 15 November 2021, Italy drew 0–0 with
Northern Ireland in their final
2022 World Cup qualifying match and finished in second place, two points behind Switzerland. On 24 March 2022, Italy lost 1–0 in the semi-final of the play-offs against
North Macedonia, their first-ever World Cup qualifying home defeat, therefore, failing to qualify for the World Cup for a second consecutive time. On 1 June 2022, Italy took part in the
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions match, rebranded as the
2022 Finalissima, losing 3–0 against defending
Copa América champion
Argentina. In September Italy qualified for the
2023 UEFA Nations League Finals after beating
Hungary 2–0 in
Budapest. On 15 June 2023, Italy played the semi-final against Spain, losing 2–1. Three days later, Italy won the third-place match 3–2 against the Netherlands. In August 2023, after five years as Italy's coach, Mancini resigned.
Luciano Spalletti was chosen as the new coach, and led the team in the last six games of
Euro 2024 qualifying, managing to achieve direct qualification to the
European Championship. Italy were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 following a 2–0 loss to
Switzerland, leading the minister for Sport
Andrea Abodi to call the Euro campaign a "failure".
Failure to qualify for 2026 World Cup In June 2025, after a 3–0 defeat against
Norway in the first match of the
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in
Oslo, Spalletti was relieved from his duties, and former
2006 World Cup champion
Gennaro Gattuso took his place. Gattuso's debut as Italy's
commissario tecnico came on 5 September in a 5–0 win against
Estonia. In November of the same year, Italy qualified for the play-offs for
the third time in a row following a 4–1 home defeat to Norway. Italy were drawn into
Path A of the play-offs, and defeated
Northern Ireland 2–0 in the semi-final, but on 31 March 2026, Italy failed to qualify for the
2026 FIFA World Cup after losing away to
Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties following a 1–1 draw, marking the third straight World Cup for which they failed to qualify. Two days later,
Gabriele Gravina resigned as President of the Italian Football Federation, and then also
Buffon and Gattuso resigned as head of delegation and head coach, respectively. On 10 April,
Silvio Baldini was named caretaker manager for Italy's friendlies in June. ==Rivalries==