Italy

History of the Italy National Team: Four Stars, the Squadra Azzurra and the Absence of 2026

Four-time world champions and European champions in 2021, Italy are among the three most decorated nations in football history. But on 31 March 2026 they missed a third consecutive World Cup — a first for any former world champion.

1. Origins and the Pozzo Era (1898–1949)

The Italian federation was founded in 1898 and the national team played its first match in 1910 against France (6–2). The sky-blue shirt, the azzurro, was adopted in 1911 in tribute to the House of Savoy. Under Vittorio Pozzo, Italy dominated the 1930s like no other nation: world champions at home in 1934, Olympic gold medallists in 1936, then world champions again in 1938 in France. Pozzo remains to this day the only coach to have won two World Cups. The momentum was broken on 4 May 1949 by the Superga air disaster, which wiped out Il Grande Torino and with it the spine of the Nazionale.

2. Rebuilding, Euro 1968 and the Game of the Century (1950–1978)

The 1950s and 1960s were difficult, until Euro 1968 was won at home against Yugoslavia after a replay — Italy's first continental title. Two years later in Mexico, Italy played the most extraordinary semi-final in the tournament's history: a 4–3 win after extra time against West Germany, nicknamed the "Game of the Century", before losing the final to Pelé's Brazil.

3. Spain 1982: The Triumph of Paolo Rossi (1979–1990)

The 1982 World Cup remains one of the great epics of Italian football. Having scraped through the first round, Enzo Bearzot's side was transformed: they eliminated Maradona's Argentina and then, above all, the great Brazil of Sócrates and Zico (3–2) through a hat-trick from Paolo Rossi, freshly returned from a two-year suspension. Italy then beat Poland and finally West Germany 3–1 in the Madrid final, with Dino Zoff captain at forty, the oldest World Cup winner ever. In 1990, as hosts, they lost the semi-final on penalties to Argentina.

4. Baggio, Berlin and the Fourth Star (1994–2006)

In 1994 the Italy of Roberto Baggio reached the final in the United States, lost on penalties to Brazil — with Baggio, the tournament's hero, missing the decisive kick. Revenge came on 9 July 2006 in Berlin: under Marcello Lippi, and against the domestic turmoil of the Calciopoli scandal, the Nazionale beat France on penalties (1–1, 5–3) in a final defined by Zinédine Zidane's dismissal. It was the fourth star. Fabio Cannavaro, captain and leader of a magnificent defence in front of Gianluigi Buffon, won the Ballon d'Or.

5. The Dark Decade and the Triumph at Wembley (2010–2021)

Two group-stage exits followed at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, and then, on 13 November 2017, a historic failure: beaten by Sweden in a play-off, Italy missed the 2018 World Cup, their first absence in sixty years. The revival was spectacular. Under Roberto Mancini, the Nazionale put together a record 37-match unbeaten run and won Euro 2020, played in 2021, beating England on penalties at Wembley. The euphoria was short-lived: months later, North Macedonia eliminated Italy in a play-off and denied them the 2022 World Cup.

6. 31 March 2026: A Third Consecutive Absence

After a last-16 defeat to Switzerland at Euro 2024, Italy began a new qualifying campaign under pressure. The European route led them once again to the play-offs. On 31 March 2026, in the play-off final, the Nazionale lost on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina and failed to book their place at the 2026 World Cup.

The verdict was stark: four-time world champions, Italy became the first former world champion in history to miss three consecutive World Cups (2018, 2022, 2026). Ranked twelfth by FIFA, they were also the highest-placed nation absent from the tournament. The absence came with a paradox: in the same season Inter Milan completed a league and cup double, Napoli had just been crowned champions in 2025, and Italian clubs were rediscovering genuine European competitiveness.

7. Towards 2030: Rebuilding the Nazionale

Since September 2026, rebuilding the national team has become Italian football's great project. The debate centres on youth development, on the space left to young players in a heavily internationalised Serie A, and on reviving a talent pool that gave football some of its finest defenders and technicians. With the European Championship and then the 2030 World Cup in view, the objective is clear: to return the Azzurri to where their history naturally places them, among the very first nations of world football.