Longest unbeaten run – 21 matches (2017–2018)

Lore & Background

Italy is one of the most successful national teams in international football. It has won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006), becoming the first team to successfully defend the title, and has also finished as runners-up in 1970 and 1994. Italy has won the UEFA European Championship twice (1968 and 2020), reached the final in 2000 and 2012, and won the Olympic football tournament in 1936. Italy also finished third in the FIFA Confederations Cup (2013) and the UEFA Nations League (2021 and 2023).

The team is known as the Blues, after Savoy blue, the traditional colour of the House of Savoy. Italy has long-standing rivalries with Brazil, France, Germany, and Spain. The team has reached the top of the FIFA World Rankings in 1993 and 2007. Between 2018 and 2021, Italy set a record unbeaten run of 37 competitive men's international matches, which was surpassed by Spain in 2026.

Italy failed to qualify for the 2018, 2022, and 2026 editions of the World Cup, marking its longest absence from the competition.

Reader's Guide

Italy's first official match was held in Milan on 15 May 1910, defeating France 6–2. The team's first success was a bronze medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Italy won the 1934 and 1938 World Cups under coach Vittorio Pozzo. After a plane crash in 1949 weakened the team, Italy struggled in the 1950s and 1960s. Italy hosted and won the 1968 European Championship. In the 1970 World Cup, Italy reached the final but lost to Brazil. Under Enzo Bearzot, Italy won the 1982 World Cup after a group stage that included a victory over Argentina and a win against Brazil.