[1] Antonio Sabato represented the Italy under-20 side at the 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship.
He made his debut with the Under-21 Italian side under Azeglio Vicini, on the 6 October 1982, in a 1–1 draw against Austria.
At the end of that season, he also made his debut for the Italy Under-23 Olympic side under Cesare Maldini, and he participated both in the qualifying games for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, as well as at the final tournament, where Italy finished in fourth place, behind Yugoslavia, after reaching the semi-finals.
He made his senior debut for Italy on 3 March 1984, in a 2–1 win over Turkey, replacing Giuseppe Dossena.
He also played in a 2–0 over Canada, a 0–0 draw against the United States, and in a 1–0 win over Switzerland, where he made his first starting appearance for Italy, coming off for Ubaldo Righetti in the 77th minute.