The team competes for its only official tournament, the FIFA U-20 World Cup, depending on the U19s results at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship held in the even-numbered years, that qualifies European teams for the U-20 World Cup.

The best result obtained by the Italian team in the U-20 World Cup is the second place achieved in the 2023 edition held in Argentina, losing 1–0 against Uruguay.

Each season the team mainly participates in friendly tournaments, in which overage players may also be selected.

The U20 team participated until 2017 in the annual Four Nations Tournament with Germany, Switzerland and Poland (which replaced Austria).

[1][2][3][4] The following 22 players were called up for the Under 20 Elite League matches against Czech Republic and Germany on 5 and 10 September 2024, respectively.