The Italy National Football Team still remains one of the most successful teams in world football. The Azzurri narrowly failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026, but new players are entering the fold with fresh ideas, youthful diversity and renewed hope. Here’s everything you need to know about the current Italy squad, fixtures, FIFA rank and coach, World Cup record key players and more from beyond the Azzurri ahead of 2026.
Italy National Football Team 2026
| Category | Details |
| Team Name | Italy National Football Team |
| Nickname | Azzurri (The Blues) |
| Governing Body | Italian Football Federation (FIGC) |
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Head Coach | Vacant (Caretaker: Silvio Baldini) |
| Captain | Gianluigi Donnarumma |
| Most Capped Player | Gianluigi Buffon (176 appearances) |
| All-Time Top Scorer | Luigi Riva (35 goals) |
| FIFA World Ranking | Around 12th (2026) |
| FIFA World Cup Titles | 4 (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) |
| UEFA European Championship Titles | 2 (1968, 2020) |
| Home Stadium | Various Stadiums (Main: Stadio Olimpico, Rome) |
| Training Centre | Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, Florence |
| Team Colours | Blue Shirt, White Shorts, Blue Socks |
| FIFA Code | ITA |
| First International Match | Italy 6–2 France (1910) |
| Current Status (2026) | Rebuilding after missing the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification |
Italy National Football Team Overview
History of the Azzurri
The Italy national football team has represented the country in international men’s football since its first match in 1910. One of the most successful countries in the sport over well over a century, Italy has established itself on a firm defensive tradition, tactical acumen and a knack for later victories at the game’s biggest events.
They are four-time World Cup winners (1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006) and runners-up on two occasions (1970 and 1994). Italy also boasts World Cup finishes of third in 1990 and fourth in 1978, reaffirming an astonishing level of continuity at the highest possible level across generations.
Apart from the World Cup, Italy has won the European Championship as well: twice in 1968 and 2020 and were runners-up in two other European finals (2000, 2012). For Costa, he can also expect plenty of attention as the teams’ last major title came at Euro 2020 (then delayed until 2021) and Italy had overcome failure to qualify for the World Cup altogether three years earlier.
Italy National Football Team Current Squad (2026)
| Position | Key Players |
| Goalkeepers | Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Carnesecchi, Guglielmo Vicario |
| Defenders | Alessandro Bastoni, Alessandro Buongiorno, Riccardo Calafiori, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Federico Gatti |
| Midfielders | Nicolò Barella, Sandro Tonali, Davide Frattesi, Samuele Ricci, Nicolò Rovella |
| Forwards | Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, Giacomo Raspadori, Wilfried Gnonto, Lorenzo Lucca |
Italy National Football Team Coach & Management (2026)
| Role | Name |
| Head Coach | Vacant (Permanent appointment pending) |
| Caretaker Coach | Silvio Baldini |
| Team Captain | Gianluigi Donnarumma |
| Governing Body | Italian Football Federation (FIGC) |
| Federation President | Giovanni Malagò (Elected 2026) |
| Technical Director (Expected) | Paolo Maldini (Reported Candidate) |
| Home Stadium | Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Primary Venue) |
| Training Centre | Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, Florence |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| FIFA Code | ITA |
Italy Football Federation (FIGC) and Governance
The team is managed by the Italian Football Federation (Italian: Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), which is the governing body for football in Italy and one of UEFA’s founding members. For all of Italy’s coaching staff, youth teams and teaching instruction initiatives the primary training ground / technical headquarters is located in Florence at the Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano. Matches at home are played in different stadiums all over the country, but almost always Stadio Olimpico in Rome is used as the main home ground.
The FIGC has itself undergone significant upheaval with 2026. Gabriele Gravina resigned as federation president just two days after Italy’s elimination from World Cup qualifying. On 22 June 2026, the presidential election of the Italian Football Federation saw Giovanni Malagò and Giancarlo Abete being the only candidates for presidency. The victor of that vote was charged with identifying a new head coach and charting the course for Italian football after it suffered one of its darkest hours in decades.
Italy National Football Team Squad 2026
Current Squad List and Key Players
How Italy squad has changed through 2026. The squad for the World Cup qualification play-offs in March was based around an established core of Serie A and international stars. The 28-player squad selected for this campaign featured goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, defenders Alessandro Bastoni, Alessandro Buongiorno and Riccardo Calafiori plus midfielders Nicolò Barella, Davide Frattesi and Sandro Tonali and forwards Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui and Giacomo Raspadori.
But in June 2026, the squad picture was quite different. The World Cup dream over, the federation and a caretaker manager brought in for the friendlies in June against Luxembourg and Greece intended to usher in a transitional generation.
Nineteen of those in that squad had made their debuts, from a pool of just 24 players with an average age of only 20 years and 6 months and all the more remarkable given how much experience lined up for Wales’ play-off efforts only months before of that squad, just four had previously received a senior cap with Italy Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Palestra, Niccolò Pisilli and Francesco Pio Esposito.
Serie A Stars in the Italy Squad
Serie A remains the mainstay of the country’s talent pool for the national team, but an increasing proportion of Italy’s exciting under-21 generation are now playing their football overseas. The latest squads contained a sprinkling of players from Bundesliga clubs (most notably Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach) alongside the usual core coming from Juventus, Inter, Napoli, Roma and Atalanta.
It also follows the continued trend of top Italian players, including Donnarumma himself moving from Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester City, representing Italy despite playing for elite clubs outside Serie A.
Squad Announcement and Latest Call-ups
But the latest squad announcements are indicative of a shifting federation. Silvio Baldini (who had been appointed caretaker manager for the friendlies in June 2026) relied heavily on youth and new blood rather than established veterans, many of whom were rested or omitted as coaching staff looked for depth options going forward. A more significant squad reshuffle is anticipated after a permanent head coach is announced ahead of Italy’s UEFA Nations League clashes against Belgium and Türkiye in September 2026.
Coach and Management National Football Team Italy
Tactical Analysis and Manager Profile
2026, meanwhile, has brought a pretty unusual amount of instability for Italy’s coaching situation. In June 2025, Luciano Spalletti was sacked after failing to successfully navigate World Cup qualifying (and a round-of-16 exit at Euro 2024), culminating in an opening 3-0 loss to Norway.
He was followed in June 2025 by Gennaro Gattuso from Italy’s victorious 2006 World Cup squad and who saw them through the rest of qualifying, which included a play-off route after Italy were runners up to England in their group.
Italy finished by beating Northern Ireland in the play-off semi-final under Gattuso’s guidance, however Italy lost 1-1 away to Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 31, 2026 before losing out 4-3 in a penalty shootout that left them out of World Cup qualification for a third successive cycle. Only days later, Gattuso resigned “by mutual consent” along with the FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon in a dramatic shake-up of the national team’s leadership structure.
Shortly afterwards, the federation looked to Silvio Baldini under-21 coach from July 2025 — appointing him caretaker for June friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece. A permanent successor had not yet been appointed in early July 2026, but Italian media reported that Antonio Conte was the favourite to be his replacement with former Italy manager Roberto Mancini who led the Azzurri to Euro 2020 success also heavily linked among other candidates including Massimiliano Allegri and Claudio Ranieri.
Coaching Staff and Backroom Team
In addition to the search for a head coach, the FIGC has sought a technical director designed to adeptly chart the national teams’ course over time. Multiple reports in Italy have mentioned former AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini as a frontrunner for that role, while federation officials have claimed getting both appointments sorted is top of the agenda once the new FIGC hierarchy is confirmed. And the scale of that rebuilding drives home what Italian football thinks of having missed out on a third World Cup in succession.
Italy National Football Team Fixtures and Schedule
Upcoming Matches and Kick-off Times
As there is nothing more to play for in terms of World Cup qualification, Italy’s 2026 schedule has moved towards friendlies and UEFA Nations League preparation only. After the June friendlies with Luxembourg and Greece, Italy’s next important Netherlands fixtures are in November 2026 when they host France in a UEFA Nations League Group 1 match. Several of Italy’s distant rivals await over the next cycle of fixtures, with Belgium, Türkiye, and France all lined up across home and away trips as the Azzurri begins a new chapter under its next permanent manager.
Recent Results and Match Reports
Another facet of the squad is that Italy’s results have been inconsistent as players slowly change from generation to generation. In World Cup qualifying, the team lost heavily to Norway but recovered with a win over Northern Ireland and in normal time pushed Bosnia and Herzegovina all the way in the play-offs before losing on penalties. Under interim head coach Silvio Baldini, the inexperienced Italy line-up battled to comfortable success in friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece, encouraging results given how raw a lot of the squad looked on its international debut.
Italy National Football Team FIFA Ranking
| Year | FIFA World Ranking | Performance Summary |
| 2022 | 6th | Missed the FIFA World Cup but remained among the world’s top-ranked teams. |
| 2023 | 9th | Consistent UEFA performances helped maintain a place inside the top 10. |
| 2024 | 10th | Competed at UEFA Euro 2024 and remained in the world’s top football nations. |
| 2025 | 11th | Mixed international results caused a slight drop in the FIFA rankings. |
| 2026 | 12th (Approx.) | Failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026, resulting in another decline in ranking. |
Current World Ranking Standing
Italy are probably in 12th place in the FIFA World Rankings now, showing the quality still exists on paper for a team that has been struggling to qualify of late. Italy is also ranked behind many of the teams who did qualify for the 2026 World Cup, highlighting a gap between where the talent within this squad could be and what it has delivered in tournaments.
Ranking Trend Over Recent Years
The Italian ranking in the past has seen some huge ups and downs, shaped largely by their irregularity to qualify for World Cup’s during that 10 year period. Unsuccessfully qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, winning Euro 2020 three years later and now missing a third consecutive World Cup after this year’s play-off defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The contrast of strong European Championship cycles and repeated failure to qualify for World Cups has become one of the most talked about narratives in Italian football, and it should be a major talking point for whoever takes charge long-term.
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Italy National Football Team World Cup History
World Cup Titles and Achievements
Italy, who has won four World Cup titles (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006), is historically one of the most successful teams in World Cup history behind Brazil. The German victory in 2006 is the last time the team has triumphed, winning on penalties against France in a final that will not only be remembered for beating at your key which Zinedine Zidane was then through Italy’s disciplined and defensively sound progress. Besides those title-winning runs, Italy – ranked No. 1 on FIFA’s list of World Cup winners with four titles – were runners-up in 1970 and ’94 and finished third (in ’90) or fourth place (in ’78).
World Cup 2026 Qualification Journey
Italy’s long, complicated journey to the 2026 World Cup in North America came crashing down. Having struggled through the qualifying campaign after opening with a 3-0 defeat to Norway, the team was forced into the play-offs for World Cup qualification for a third success cycle in finishing second in its qualifying group.
Italy defeated Northern Ireland 2–0 in the semi-final, which led them to Path A and they eventually faced Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final on 31 March 2026. Italy’s ten men, forced to play with one fewer after picking up a red card, were unable to hold their 1-0 advantage and Bosnia earned themselves penalties when Ashkan Dejagah netted before the final whistle, closing the door on Italy’s hopes of going further in the World Cup and sparking a sequence of resignations from coaching backroom staff as well as from federation officials in charge.
Italy National Football Team Formation and Playing Style
Preferred Formation and Tactics
For decades, Italian football has been synonymous with functional defensive shapes and Italy’s recent teams have mostly favoured either a back-3 or back-4 structure aimed at nullifying opponent opportunities in the final-third whilst quickly moving through midfield. With Gennaro Gattuso in the dugout, the team relied upon an organisational solidity, but qualifying results revealed cracks in squad depth and consistency. The tactical identity under a long-term successor is still unknown: someone like Antonio Conte—who favours intensely-coached, highly-structured systems would arguably represent a much different approach.
Strengths and Key Positions
Most of all from a goalkeeping perspective in which Italy continue to excel anchored of course by Gianluigi Donnarumma who was crowned World Goalkeeper of the Year and winner of the Yashin Trophy after enjoying a treble-winning campaign at Paris Saint-Germain prior to departing for Manchester City.
Experienced centre-backs and full-backs remain well-stocked at the top of clubs in Italy, while a generational change is underway through the midfield and attack – young talents like Francesco Pio Esposito (20), Marco Palestra (19) emerging alongside ‘known quantity’ options such as Moise Kean (23), Mateo Retegui (24).
Italy National Football Team All-Time Top Scorers
Leading Goal Scorers in Azzurri History
Italy boasts an illustrious history of prolific goal-scorers who helped define entire generations of the national team, spanning the World Cup triumphant eras of 1934 and 1938 to stars in more modern times associated with their European Championship successes. In Italy, the tradition of finishing prowess fit to win major tournaments – and therefore eligible for all-time scoring charts.
Current Squad’s Top Contributors
Notable outliers in the current set-up, weighted towards next-generation players like moot but ready to perform now include Moise Kean one of Italy’s most penetrative attacking trumps heading into the World Cup play-offs as their joint-top scorer in a squad with 11 goals from just 24 caps following a rich scoring spell for Fiorentina in Serie A, Mateo Retegui supporting Kean and Giacomo Raspadori prominent amongst that attacking post-qualifying ranks give their next coach an almost at least reasonable sounding attack even as the rest fo genX generational is changing width and breadth.
Italy National Football Team Head-to-Head Records
Italy V Major Rivals (Germany, France and Spain)
Italy’s rivalries with Germany, France and Spain are perhaps the most historic in European football, forged over decades of high-profile tournament clashes. Another high profile rivalry at the World Cup are Italy and Germany, two of the most decorated nations in World Cup history. Any contest with France holds particular significance following the 2006 World Cup final, whilst encounters against Spain have come at key junctures in both European Championship and World Cup contests, particularly as the two nations faced off repeatedly in Euro tournaments across two decades.
Historical Performance Against Top Teams
The clashes between the two nations are dubbed the ‘World Derby’ — with both countries having amassed nine World Cup titles in total. Away from familiar European foes, Italy’s play-off loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 2026 has made for a fresh painful footnote in recent head-to-head history whose scale means large consequences for Italian football.
Italy National Football Team Captain and Leadership
Current Captain Profile
And Gianluigi Donnarumma has been a regular as Italy’s captain, which holds serious symbolic weight with the goalkeeper being one of the most decorated players of his generation. Donnarumma alone of the ten regulars in an outfield position to survive the transition from squad used for play-off to youthful combination announced ahead of June 2026 friendlies, a testament not only to what he brings on pitch but also as vital senior presence within Italian structures at a potentially turbulent time.
Leadership Group and Vice-Captains
Italy’s leadership group will also be entering a new chapter, with so many senior figures leaving the setup in 2026 notably former delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon. Names such as Alessandro Bastoni among already established defenders and experienced midfielders Nicolò Barella have consistently featured throughout the latest senior squads and are deemed to be more than possible candidates to step up with significant leadership responsibility in a team undergoing a rebuilding process.
Italy National Football Team Injury News and Updates
Latest Injury Concerns
A prevailing theme over the course of Italy’s campaigns as always been squad availability. Play-off match against Sweden, March 2026: forward Moise Kean came back into the squad for the first time in a few matches through injury and had been in great form too with three goals in his last five Serie A appearances for Fiorentina before being called up. Keeping their key attacking players off the sidelines has been a constant battle for the coaching staff heading into every international window.
Expected Return Timelines
Squad planning will now be more focused on a new phase for Italy under its soon-to-be permanent head coach, which means keeping an eye on the fitness and match sharpness of returning established internationals from injury ahead of September’s UEFA Nations League fixtures against Belgium and Türkiye in 2026. Some of these squads have included multiple uncapped players, and as senior players return to fitness and regain form for international selection, expect sweeping changes in the make-up of the group before facing Australia in a competitive fixture again.
Italy National Football Team Stats (2026)
| Statistic | Record |
| Founded | 1910 |
| FIFA World Cup Titles | 4 |
| UEFA European Championship Titles | 2 |
| Current FIFA Ranking | 12th (Approx.) |
| Current Captain | Gianluigi Donnarumma |
| Most Capped Player | Gianluigi Buffon (176 Caps) |
| All-Time Top Scorer | Luigi Riva (35 Goals) |
| First International Match | Italy 6–2 France (1910) |
| Nickname | Azzurri (The Blues) |
| FIFA Code | ITA |
Conclusion
Italy national football team find themselves at a real crossroad. Accompanying the proud history of four World Cup successes and two European Championships is a slightly less comforting statistic of three consecutive World Cup qualification failures. Now with a new FIGC president elected, the appointment of a permanent head coach hoped soon and the first wave of younger talent starting to emerge, whether the Azzurri can begin to reclaim its place among football’s elite nations by the next major tournament cycle will be left in no small part on how this year begins for Italy.
FAQs
Q1. Why did the Italy national football team fail to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Italy missed the FIFA World Cup 2026 after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the qualification play-off final on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Q2. Who is the captain of the Italy national football team in 2026?
Gianluigi Donnarumma is the captain of the Italy national football team and remains one of the squad’s most experienced leaders.
Q3. What is Italy’s current FIFA ranking in 2026?
Italy is ranked around 12th in the FIFA World Rankings in 2026, although rankings can change after each international window.
Q4. How many FIFA World Cups has Italy won?
Italy has won the FIFA World Cup four times — in 1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006.
Q5. Who is the all-time top scorer for the Italy national football team?
Luigi Riva is Italy’s all-time leading goalscorer with 35 international goals.
Q6. Who is expected to become Italy’s next permanent head coach?
As of 2026, Antonio Conte has been heavily linked with the role, while Roberto Mancini is also among the reported candidates.
