The Italy national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) represents Italy in men's international football.
History[]
19th century[]
The Italian Football Federation was established in Turin on March 26, 1898.[1]
On April 30, 1899, an Italian selection played a Swiss eleven, losing 0-2 in Torino, marking an early attempt to establish an Italian national team.[2]
20th century[]
On May 15, 1910, Italy played its first official match in Milan, defeating France 6-2, with Pietro Lana scoring the first goal for the Italian national team.[3][4]
Italy won their first World Cup title in 1934, defeating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in extra time in the final.[5] In 1938, they secured their second World Cup title by defeating Hungary 4-2.[6]
In 1968, Italy won the European Championship, their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup. The tournament ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time, and the match was replayed a few days later. Italy won the replay 2–0, becoming the only time the final of the European Championship or World Cup was replayed.[7]
In 1982, Italy secured their third World Cup title by defeating West Germany 3-1 in the final.[8]
In 1990, Italy hosted the World Cup for the second time. Italy lost to Argentina in the semi-finals, losing 4-3 on penalty kicks, but later defeated England 2-1 in the third-place match.[9]
21st century[]
On 9 July 2006, the Azzurri secured their fourth World Cup title by defeating France in the final 5-3 on penalties.[10]
Italy's FIFA World Ranking dropped to their lowest ever ranking of 21st on August 16, 2018, following the 2018 World Cup.[11]
Italy won the European Championship on July 11, 2021, beating England 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Wembley Stadium.[12]
Trivia[]
- Italy has significant footballing rivalries with countries like Brazil,[13] France,[14] Germany,[15] and Spain.[16]
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20200531045200/https://www.figc.it/en/figc/history/history-of-the-figc/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230317130613/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesz/zwit-others-intres.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20081230141227/http://www.magliarossonera.it/190910_album.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070423025820/http://www.figc.it/english/storia/storia_completa.htm#1913
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/history/newsid_1632000/1632204.stm
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/history/newsid_1923000/1923838.stm
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160605043117/http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/17899534
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4850926.stm
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/history/newsid_1632000/1632223.stm
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210731045131/https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/2006germany/match-center/97410064
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20180816230542/https://www.football-italia.net/126268/italy-outside-world-top-20
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210711170405/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51198762
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161220124211/http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1932884.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150224213930/http://www.fantagazzetta.com/approfondimenti/storia-recente-di-italia-francia-165303
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20190329025400/http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/euro-2012/italy-germany-euro2012-semifinals/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160704063559/http://euro2016.tsn.ca/matches/match/2018002/
