Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of football and the World Cup, having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), appearing in two other finals (1970, 1994), and reaching also a third (1990) and a fourth (1978) place.

[3][4][5] The Italian team played with a (2–3–5) system and consisted of: De Simoni; Varisco, Calì; Trerè, Fossati, Capello; Debernardi, Rizzi, Cevenini I, Lana, Boiocchi.

[9] After declining to participate in the inaugural World Cup (1930, in Uruguay) the Italy national team won two consecutive editions of the tournament in 1934 and 1938, under the direction of coach Vittorio Pozzo and the performance of Giuseppe Meazza, who is considered one of the best Italian football players of all time by some.

Italy defeated Czechoslovakia 2–1 in extra time in the final in Rome, with goals by Raimundo Orsi and Angelo Schiavio to achieve their first World Cup title.

Despite being the tournament favourites, the Azzurri, whose 1966 squad included Gianni Rivera and Giacomo Bulgarelli, were eliminated in the first round by the semi-professional North Koreans.

The Italian team was bitterly condemned upon their return home, while North Korean scorer Pak Doo-ik was celebrated as the David who killed Goliath.

[19][20] In 1968, Italy hosted the European Championship and won the tournament in its first participation, beating Yugoslavia in Rome and winning their first major competition since the 1938 World Cup.

Under the initial guide of Fulvio Bernardini and later that of head coach Enzo Bearzot, a new generation of Italian players came to the international stage in the second half of the 1970s.

After two draws with Spain and Belgium and a narrow 1–0 win over England, Italy were beaten by Czechoslovakia in the third-place match on penalties 9–8 after Fulvio Collovati missed his kick.

[25][26] After a scandal in Serie A, where some National team players such as Paolo Rossi[27] were prosecuted and suspended for match fixing and illegal betting, the Azzurri qualified for the second round of the 1982 World Cup after three uninspiring draws against Poland, Peru, and Cameroon.

In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal, and while the Germans were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Marco Tardelli and substitute Alessandro Altobelli finalised two contropiede counterattacks to make it 3–0.

After failing to qualify for the 1992 European Championship, Vicini was replaced by former AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi, who brought a new style of play.

After a 1–0 win against Norway in New York and a 1–1 draw with Mexico at the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Italy advanced from Group E based on goals scored among the four teams tied on points.

[49][50] In the final, which took place in Los Angeles's Rose Bowl stadium 2,700 miles (4,320 km) and three time zones away from the Northeastern United States where they had played all their previous matches, Italy, who had 24 hours less rest than Brazil, played 120 minutes of scoreless football, taking the match to a penalty shootout, the first time a World Cup final was settled in a penalty shootout.

[51] Italy lost the subsequent shootout 3–2 after Baggio, who had been playing with the aid of a pain-killer injection[52] and a heavily bandaged hamstring,[53][54] missed the final penalty kick of the match, shooting over the crossbar.

Having defeated Russia 2–1 and losing by the same score against the Czech Republic, Italy required a victory in their final group match against Germany to progress to the quarter-finals.

[58] After finishing first in their group and overcoming Norway in the second round, Italy faced a penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals, for the third World Cup in a row.

'relay') between Mazzola and Rivera from 1970, held the eventual World Champions and host team, France, to a 0–0 draw after extra time, but lost 4–3 in the shoot-out.

[63] After the defeat, coach Dino Zoff resigned in protest after being criticized by AC Milan club president and politician Silvio Berlusconi.

[65] Playing in Group 8 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification process, Italy finished undefeated after facing Romania, Georgia, Hungary and Lithuania.

The match proved controversial with members of the Italian team, most notably striker Francesco Totti and coach Giovanni Trapattoni, suggesting a conspiracy to eliminate Italy from the competition.

[68] Trapattoni even obliquely accused FIFA of ordering the official to ensure a Korean victory so that one of the two host nations would remain in the tournament.

[70] FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated that the linesmen had been a "disaster" and admitted that Italy suffered from bad offside calls during the group matches, but he denied conspiracy allegations.

[84] In the semi-finals, Italy beat hosts Germany 2–0 with goals Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero in the last minutes of extra time.

[87] FIFA named seven Italian players — Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni — to the 23-man tournament All Star Team.

[110] The 23-man squad was initially criticised by many fans and members of the media for its lack of quality,[111] which saw notable absences, such as Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco being controversially left out.

[121] Following the match, veterans Andrea Barzagli, Daniele De Rossi and captain Gianluigi Buffon all declared their retirement from the national team.

[138] On 15 November, Italy drew 0–0 with Northern Ireland in their final 2022 World Cup qualifying Group C match and finished in second place, two points behind Switzerland.

[146] Luciano Spalletti was chosen as the new coach,[147] and as of September 2023 he led the team in the last six games of Euro 2024 qualifying, managing to achieve direct qualification to the European Championship.

The cross of the former Royal House of Savoy was removed from the flag of Italy, and consequently from the national team's badge, now consisting solely of the Tricolore.