Italy

Italy

Italy, known as the Azzurri, is one of the most decorated national teams in football history. Governed by the FIGC (founded 1898), Italy has won the FIFA World Cup four times: 1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006, and clinched the UEFA European Championship in 1968 and 2021. The 2021 Euro triumph under coach Roberto Mancini ended a 53-year continental wait and came with an unbeaten run of 37 matches. Legendary players include Paolo Maldini, Roberto Baggio, Francesco Totti, Gianluigi Buffon, and more recently Giorgio Chiellini and Federico Chiesa. Italy narrowly missed the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in painful qualification failures. However, the national team remains a powerhouse, consistently competitive in UEFA Nations League campaigns and European qualifying cycles, with a rich tradition of tactical innovation.