Italy National Football Team came into existence in 1910. They played their first game the same year with France in Milan. They won the match by six goals to two to France as Lana scored the ever first goal.
Other squad members included:
- Fossati
- Capello
- Debernardi
- Rizzi
- Cevenini
- Francesco Cali (the captain)
It is among the best national teams in history, with four World Cup wins. These were in 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006. They have also made it to the finals twice, in 1970 and 1994.
Italy National Football Team First World Cup
The national football squad won the first in 1934. The group declined to participate in 1930 due to what they termed as inadequate preparation.
They concentrated well on the training for the 1934 championship and won their first title. In their opening match, they beat the United States by seven goals to one in Rome.
The final game was against Czechoslovakia in which they beat them by 2-1 in extra time. Raimundo Orsi and Angelo Schiavio scored the two goals, leading Italy to their first World Cup trophy.
Second World Cup
They obtained their second trophy in 1938 after beating Hungary by four goals to two in ninety minutes. Gino Colaussi scored two goals and Silvio Piola did two as well.
The FIFA World Cup was in Paris, France, in June. It was the third championship and the second for the country to participate.
They were under the leadership of Vittorio Pozzo as the manager. Vittorio Pozzo was the first coach to win two trophies consecutively.
The tournament came to a break after 1938 due to World War II.
Italy National Football Team Plane crash
On 4th May 1949, Superga air disaster happened when a Fiat G.212 owned by the Italian Airlines crashed. The airplane had thirty-one people on board while the crash happened, all the people on board died on the spot.
Among them were ten national players, as the plane was transporting the whole Torino football team, the immediate winners of Serie A league.
The scene of the crash was in the retaining wall at the back of the Basilica of Superga. The ten players who died were among the first eleven squad. Due to this, they never made it past the first round.
Third World Cup
It resumed in 1950 after World War II. They struggled without success until 1982.
They started the tournament on a low tone where they drew all their first three group stage matches against Cameroon, Poland, and Peru.
In the second round, they came out firm winning their first game against Argentina by two goals to one. Next, they beat Brazil by three goals to two.
This win sent the team to semi-finals and defeated Poland by two goals from Rossi. They played Germany in the finals and won by three goals to none.
Fourth World Cup
In 2006, they grabbed its fourth title in Germany. The team led by Marcello Lippi started well, beating Ghana 2–0 in their opening match.
They drew 1-1 against the United States and beat the Czech Republic by 2-0 to advance to the next level. They defeated Ukraine by three goals to zero in the quarter-finals and the hosting team Germany 2-0 in the semi-final to advance to finals.
Italy met France in the final game, where Zidane scored the opening goal before Materazo equalized. The game ended on 1-1 draw in additional time, and won by 5-3 on penalty shoot out.
After the 2006 World Cup
Since 2006, Italy has performed dismally. In 2010, they lost their two opening games in South Africa. This was the worst performance by failing to win even a single game.
In 2010, Italy started well, but they were stopped by their rivals German in the semifinal on penalties, which they lost five goals to six.
In the 2018 qualification, they finished second in group plays and needed to go for a game off against Sweden to qualify. They lost their playoff match against Sweden by one goal.
The four-time champions are in preparation for the 2022 world cup. The team seems to be in perfect form after winning the 2020 Euro qualification with three games to play.
Unfortunately, Euro 2020 will happen in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected most parts of the world. The draws for 2022 qualifications will occur in November 2020.
There is no doubt the world champion will bounce back very strong for the 2022 world. There are significant changes in the squad so far. Let’s keep waiting and see what happens after the draws are out.
FAQs
Current Italian national coach is Roberto Mancini.
Juventus is currently leading the league.
Juventus, A.C Milan, Tronio F.C, Bologna F.C and A.S Roma are some of the top teams in Italy.