Italy women's national football team

Italy
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Le Azzurre
(The Blues)
AssociationItalian Football Federation
(FIGC)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachAndrea Soncin
CaptainCristiana Girelli
Most capsPatrizia Panico (204)
Top scorerPatrizia Panico (110)
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeITA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 14 Steady (15 March 2024)
Highest10 (July 2003 – September 2006; August 2012)
Lowest19 (March 2017)
First international
 Italy 2–1 Czechoslovakia 
(Viareggio, Italy; 23 February 1968)
Biggest win
 Italy 15–0 Macedonia 
(Vercelli, Italy; 17 September 2014)
Biggest defeat
 Denmark 6–0 Italy 
(Ringsted, Denmark; 16 May 1982)
 Italy 0–6 Switzerland 
(Larnaca, Cyprus; 6 March 2017)
World Cup
Appearances4 (first in 1991)
Best resultQuarter-finals (1991, 2019)
European Championship
Appearances12 (first in 1984)
Best resultRunners-up (1993, 1997)

The Italy women's national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio femminile dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international women's football since their inception in 1968. The team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy.

Formed in 1968, Italy took part in various unofficial international tournaments, hosting the first unofficial European Competition in 1969 and World Cup in 1970. Italy qualified for both the first World Cup in 1991, where they reached the quarter-finals, and the first European Championship. While Italy were runners-up in the European Championship in 1993 and 1997, they are yet to replicate similar success at the World Cup. In 2019, after a 20-year drought, Italy qualified for the World Cup where they equaled their previous best performance, reaching the quarter-finals.

History

1968–1984: Early history and unofficial tournaments

The women's national team played its first game on 23 February 1968, in Viareggio against Czechoslovakia. However, the national team was not yet part of the Italian Women's Football Federation, which was founded on 11 March in Viareggio. From the beginning, they took part in various continental and international tournaments in Europe and in the world, also achieving good successes. With the birth of the European Competition for Women's Football (1984), organized by UEFA, and later the Women's World Cup, organized by FIFA, the highest international women's competitions became equivalent to the men's competitions.

After its debut in 1968, the Italy national team took to the field to compete in other non-official international friendlies and tournaments, such as the European Competition in 1969 that saw it win the final over Denmark, the World Cup in 1970 that saw it lose the final against the aforementioned Danish national team, competitions both organized in Italy, and the Mundial in Mexico in 1971 where they achieved third place. In 1979, Italy hosted, and participated in the unofficial European Competition, reaching the final again, which took place at the San Paolo Stadium in Naples, and in which Denmark triumphed again. Between 1981 and 1988 there were five editions of the Mundialito, an international invitation-only tournament, one of the most prestigious events in the women's football scene before the advent of the World Cup. Apart from the first edition in 1981 that was organized in Japan, the next four were organized in Italy, where the Italy national team obtained three victories and two second places overall. The triumphs arrived in 1981, winning the group, in 1984 overcoming West Germany in the final and in 1984 overcoming the United States in the final, while in the other two editions it lost the final against England.

1984–1991: First World Cup and European Championship

In 1984, UEFA organized the first European Competition. Italy won Group 3 of the qualifiers, being one of four teams to qualify for the final round. Italy faced Sweden, being defeated both in the first leg, played at the Flaminio Stadium in Rome in front of 10,000 spectators, and in the return match in Linköping. In 1987, Italy again gained access to the European Competition, winning Group 4 of the qualifiers. In the final stage organized in Norway, Italy were defeated in the semi-final against the host nation, but achieved third place by defeating England, with goals by Carolina Morace and Elisabetta Vignotto. Italy were also confirmed in the 1989 edition, having passed the qualifying phase with a play-off win against France. Italy finished fourth in the tournament, having lost the semi-final against West Germany after a penalty shoot-out, as well as in the third place match against Sweden after extra time.

In the 1991 European Championship, Italy was once again admitted to the four-team finals, after having won the qualifying play-off against the Sweden. In the final tournament, Italy repeated what had happened two years before, losing both the semi-final against the German hosts and the final for third place against Denmark, although even with the fourth-place finish, gained access to the first edition of the World Cup organized by FIFA in the same year. The world championship was organized in China, as Italy was drawn into Group 3 together with Germany, Chinese Taipei and Nigeria. Italy ended the group in second place with two victories against Taipei and Nigeria and a defeat against Germany; all four goals for the team came from Carolina Morace. Italy advanced to the quarter-finals, where they were defeated by Norway 3–2 after extra time.

1993–1999: Twice European Championship runners-up

The 1993 European Championship was hosted in Italy. After defeating England in the final play-off match, Italy overcame Germany in the semi-finals after a penalty shoot-out. In the final, played at the Manuzzi Stadium in Cesena, Italy was defeated 1–0 by Norway. Norway also denied Italy a place at the 1995 European Championship, with a 7–3 aggregate loss in the qualifying play-offs. Consequently, Italy also didn't qualify for the 1995 World Cup.

Italy participated in the 1997 European Championship, with the number of teams participating in the competition increasing from four to eight. In Group B, Italy defeated Norway and drew against Denmark and Germany, still achieving first in the group advancing to the knockout stage. In the semi-final Italy beat Spain 2–1, but in the final, were defeated 2–0 by Germany. In 1998, Italy qualified for the World Championship for the second time. The 1999 edition took place in the United States, with Italy being drawn in Group B along with Brazil, Germany and Mexico. After a 1–1 draw against Germany in the debut match, Italy lost 2–0 to Brazil, and ended the group with a 2–0 victory over Mexico; Italy finishing third in the group and were eliminated.

2000–2011: Decline

With the beginning of the 2000s, a decline in the performance of the Italy national team began. At the 2001 European Championship, Italy, coached by Carolina Morace, were eliminated in the group stage due to a worse goal difference compared to Norway.

Four years later, at the 2005 European Championship, Italy finished last in its group with zero points, losing all three of their matches against Germany, Norway and France, conceding twelve goals overall. Redemption came in the 2009 edition, with Italy defeating both England and Russia, advancing to the knock-out stage as second-placed in the group behind Sweden who had defeated them. In the quarter-finals, Italy faced Germany, where they lost 2–1; Germany would ultimately win their seventh continental title.

Having failed to qualify for the 2003 and 2007 editions of the World Cup, Italy also failed to qualify for the 2011 edition in the intercontinental two-legged play-off between UEFA and CONCACAF. The United States won the first leg 1–0 in Padua with a goal by Alex Morgan in the fourth minute of added time, while they also won the second leg by a score of 1–0 in Bridgeview with a goal by Amy Rodriguez in the first half.

2011–2017: Slim World Cup qualification miss

Italy qualified for the 2013 European Championship in Sweden by winning the qualifying group with nine victories out of ten matches. At the tournament, Italy was drawn in Group A with hosts Sweden, Denmark and Finland. With one win, one draw and one defeat, Italy advanced from the group stage to the quarter-finals in second place, but were defeated 1–0 by Germany.

In the following two years, Italy, led by Antonio Cabrini, was involved in the qualification for the 2015 World Championship: despite eight victories out of ten games, including two record victories against Macedonia (11–0 and 15–0), they finished in second place in Group 2 behind Spain, sending Italy to the play-offs. In the first round of the play-offs, Italy defeated Ukraine 4–3 on aggregate, but were defeated by the Netherlands 3–2 on aggregate in the final round of the play-offs.

Italy qualified for the 2017 European Championship second in its group behind Switzerland. At the European Championship, Italy finished in last place in Group B behind Germany, Sweden and Russia, despite the victory in the third game against Sweden.

2017–present: First World Cup qualification in 20 years

Italy during 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup match against Australia.

On 8 June 2018, twenty years since their last participation, Italy qualified for the 2019 FIFA World Cup, winning its qualifying group with a game in hand. In the group stage of the tournament, Italy won Group C, recording two victories against Australia (2–1) and Jamaica (5–0), which guaranteed advancement to the knockout stage, with Italy's defeat to Brazil (0–1) irrelevant to the final table. In the round of 16, Italy won 2–0 over China, advancing to the quarter-finals for the second time in their history. However, with a 2–0 defeat to European Champions the Netherlands, Italy's World Cup journey came to an end on 29 June 2019. The following year, Italy advanced to the final of the 2020 Algarve Cup (and the first Algarve Cup final of their history) but Italy had to withdraw the match due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and Germany were declared as winners. In the 2022 Algarve Cup, Italy managed to reach the final again but lost against Sweden 6–5 at the penalty shoot-outs after the 1–1 draw after the extra-time.

However, Italy failed to produce the same form in the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, finishing bottom with only one point and one goal scored, though much blames were taken for the Serie A having not gone professional until the end of the tournament. After that failure, Italy qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup by winning two games against Moldova and Romania with the team now fully recognised professional, finishing top of the group in the qualifiers, ahead of Switzerland, which was rather an irony after the men's team fell victim to the same Swiss opponents in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Legend

 Win  Draw  Loss  Fixture

2023

11 April Friendly Italy  2–1  Colombia Rome, Italy
Report
Stadium: Stadio Tre Fontane
Referee: Zoe Stavrou (Cyprus)
1 July Friendly Italy  0–0  Morocco Ferrara, Italy
18:15 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Paolo Mazza stadium
Referee: Ioanna Allayitou (Cyprus)
14 July Friendly New Zealand  0–1  Italy Auckland, New Zealand
Report Stadium: Keith Hay Park
Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)
24 July 2023 FIFA WC Italy  1–0  Argentina Auckland, New Zealand
Report Stadium: Eden Park
Attendance: 30,889
Referee: Melissa Borjas (Honduras)
29 July 2023 FIFA WC Sweden  5–0  Italy Wellington, New Zealand
Report Stadium: Wellington Regional Stadium
Attendance: 29,143
Referee: Cheryl Foster (Wales)
2 August 2023 FIFA WC South Africa  3–2  Italy Wellington, New Zealand
Report
Stadium: Wellington Regional Stadium
Attendance: 14,967
Referee: María Carvajal (Chile)
27 October 2023–24 Nations League Italy  0–1  Spain Salerno
Report
Stadium: Stadio Arechi
Referee: Alina Peşu (Romania)

2024

23 February Friendly Italy  0–0  Republic of Ireland Florence, Italy
17:15 GMT Stadium: Viola Park
27 February Friendly England  5–1  Italy Algeciras, Spain
19:00 Stadium: Estadio Nuevo Mirador

Managerial history

Year(s) Manager
1969–1971 Giuseppe Cavicchi
1972–1978 Amedeo Amadei
1979–1981 Sergio Guenza
1981–1982 Paolo Todeschini
1982–1984 Enzo Benedetti
1984–1989 Ettore Recagni
1989–1993 Sergio Guenza
1993–1995 Comunardo Niccolai
1995–1997 Sergio Guenza
1997–1998 Sergio Vatta
1999 Carlo Facchin
1999–2000 Ettore Recagni
2000–2005 Carolina Morace
2005–2012 Pietro Ghedin
2012–2017 Antonio Cabrini
2017–2023 Milena Bertolini
2023– Andrea Soncin

Players

Current squad

Caps, goals and player numbers are correct as of the 24 July 2023 match against  Argentina.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
12 1GK Rachele Baldi (1994-10-02) 2 October 1994 (age 29) 11 0 Italy Fiorentina
1 1GK Laura Giuliani (1993-06-06) 6 June 1993 (age 30) 78 0 Italy Milan
1GK Katja Schroffenegger (1991-04-28) 28 April 1991 (age 32) 31 0 Italy Fiorentina
22 1GK Amanda Tampieri Italy Sampdoria

13 2DF Elisa Bartoli (1991-05-07) 7 May 1991 (age 32) 89 3 Italy Roma
2DF Valentina Bergamaschi (1997-01-22) 22 January 1997 (age 27) 55 8 Italy Milan
17 2DF Lisa Boattin (1997-05-03) 3 May 1997 (age 26) 56 1 Italy Juventus
4 2DF Aurora Di Rita Italy Sampdoria
4 2DF Lucia Di Guglielmo (1997-06-26) 26 June 1997 (age 26) 23 0 Italy Roma
19 2DF Martina Lenzini (1998-07-23) 23 July 1998 (age 25) 25 0 Italy Juventus
2DF Sara Gama Italy Juventus
5 2DF Elena Linari (1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 (age 29) 95 4 Italy Roma
4 2DF Elisabetta Oliviero Italy Sampdoria
23 2DF Cecilia Salvai (1993-12-02) 2 December 1993 (age 30) 49 2 Italy Juventus
2DF Julie Piga (1998-01-12) 12 January 1998 (age 26) 0 0 France Fleury

18 3MF Arianna Caruso (1999-11-06) 6 November 1999 (age 24) 36 11 Italy Juventus
16 3MF Giulia Dragoni (2006-11-07) 7 November 2006 (age 17) 3 0 Spain Barcelona B
3MF Aurora Galli (1996-12-13) 13 December 1996 (age 27) 72 6 England Everton
6 3MF Manuela Giugliano (1997-08-18) 18 August 1997 (age 26) 72 8 Italy Roma
20 3MF Giada Greggi (2000-02-18) 18 February 2000 (age 24) 14 1 Italy Roma
2 3MF Emma Severini (2003-07-18) 18 July 2003 (age 20) 1 0 Italy Fiorentina
3MF Eva Schatzer (2005-01-16) 16 January 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Italy Juventus

4FW Barbara Bonansea Italy Juventus
4FW Agnese Bonfantini (1999-07-04) 4 July 1999 (age 24) 13 1 Italy Juventus
4FW Michela Cambiaghi (1996-02-04) 4 February 1996 (age 28) 3 1 Italy Inter Milan
7 4FW Sofia Cantore (1999-09-30) 30 September 1999 (age 24) 18 1 Italy Juventus
4FW Michela Catena (1999-12-17) 17 December 1999 (age 24) 6 0 Italy Fiorentina
9 4FW Valentina Giacinti (1994-01-02) 2 January 1994 (age 30) 66 22 Italy Roma
11 4FW Benedetta Glionna (1999-07-26) 26 July 1999 (age 24) 26 0 Italy Roma
10 4FW Cristiana Girelli (captain) (1990-04-23) 23 April 1990 (age 33) 104 54 Italy Juventus
15 4FW Annamaria Serturini (1998-05-13) 13 May 1998 (age 25) 30 1 Italy Roma
4FW Martina Piemonte (1997-11-07) 7 November 1997 (age 26) 18 3 Italy Milan

Recent call ups

As of 24 July 2023

The following list of active players were not called up for the latest match of the national team, but were called up for an A-level match within the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Roberta Aprile (2000-11-22) 22 November 2000 (age 23) 7 0 Italy Juventus v.  Sweden, 31 October 2023
GK Francesca Durante (1997-02-12) 12 February 1997 (age 27) 30 0 Italy Inter Milan v.  Switzerland, 5 December 2023

DF Chiara Robustellini (2003-06-30) 30 June 2003 (age 20) 0 0 Italy Inter Milan 2023 FIFA Women's World CupPRE
DF Federica Cafferata (2000-05-07) 7 May 2000 (age 23) 3 0 Italy Fiorentina v.  South Korea, 22 February 2023
DF Angelica Soffia (2000-07-02) 2 July 2000 (age 23) 17 2 Italy Milan v.  Northern Ireland, 15 November 2022
DF Benedetta Orsi (2000-02-25) 25 February 2000 (age 24) 10 0 Italy Sassuolo v.  Sweden, 26 September 2023
DF Beatrice Merlo (1999-02-23) 23 February 1999 (age 25) 9 0 Italy Inter Milan v.  Sweden, 26 September 2023
DF Maria Luisa Filangeri (2000-01-28) 28 January 2000 (age 24) 16 0 Italy Sassuolo v.  Sweden, 31 October 2023
DF Alice Tortelli (1998-01-22) 22 January 1998 (age 26) 6 0 Italy Fiorentina v.  Switzerland, 5 December 2023

MF Flaminia Simonetti (1997-02-17) 17 February 1997 (age 27) 13 0 Italy Inter Milan 2023 FIFA Women's World CupPRE
MF Martina Rosucci (1992-05-09) 9 May 1992 (age 31) 82 5 Italy Juventus v.  South Korea, 22 February 2023INJ
MF Valentina Cernoia (1991-06-22) 22 June 1991 (age 32) 78 14 Italy Juventus v.  Sweden, 26 September 2023
MF Martina Tomaselli v.  Sweden, 31 October 2023

FW Miriam Longo (2000-02-23) 23 February 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Italy Fiorentina 2023 FIFA Women's World CupPRE
FW Barbara Bonansea (1991-06-13) 13 June 1991 (age 32) 95 30 Italy Juventus v.  Sweden, 31 October 2023
FW Chiara Beccari (2004-09-27) 27 September 2004 (age 19) 3 0 Italy Como v.  Switzerland, 5 December 2023

  • INJ = Withdrew due to injury
  • PRE = Preliminary squad
  • RET = Retired from the national team
  • COV = COVID-19 positive test or close contact

Source: FIGC (26 May 2023). "Classifica Presenze". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

Competitive record

Competition 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total
FIFA Women's World Cup 0 0 0 0
Olympic Games 0 0 0 0
UEFA Women's Championship 0 2 1 3
Mediterranean Games 0 0 0 0
Universiade 0 0 0 0
Total 0 2 1 3

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
China 1991 Quarter-finals 6th of 12 4 2 0 2 8 5 UEFA Euro 1991
Sweden 1995 Did not qualify UEFA Euro 1995
United States 1999 Group stage 9th of 16 3 1 1 1 3 3 6 5 1 0 11 4
United States 2003 Did not qualify 6 2 1 3 7 7
China 2007 8 5 0 3 25 6
Germany 2011 16 10 3 3 48 10
Canada 2015 14 9 3 2 54 11
France 2019 Quarter-finals 7th of 24 5 3 0 2 9 4 8 7 0 1 19 4
AustraliaNew Zealand 2023 Group stage 22nd of 32 3 1 0 2 3 8 10 9 0 1 40 2
2027 To be determined To be determined
Total Best: Quarter-finals 4/10 15 7 1 7 23 20 68 47 8 13 204 44
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Women's Championship record Qualifying record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
Europe 1984 Semi-finals 4th of 4 2 0 0 2 3 5 6 5 0 1 12 1
Norway 1987 Third place 3rd of 4 2 1 0 1 2 3 6 5 1 0 13 6
West Germany 1989 Fourth place 4th of 4 2 0 1 1 2 3 8 5 2 1 20 5
Denmark 1991 Fourth place 4th of 4 2 0 0 2 1 5 8 3 4 1 13 5
Italy 1993 Runners-up 2nd of 4 2 0 1 1 1 2 6 5 1 0 18 6
Germany 1995 Did not qualify 8 4 1 3 18 11
NorwaySweden 1997 Runners-up 2nd of 8 5 2 2 1 7 6 6 4 2 0 16 3
Germany 2001 Group stage 5th of 8 3 1 1 1 3 4 8 3 3 2 9 8
England 2005 8th of 8 3 0 0 3 4 12 10 6 3 1 20 10
Finland 2009 Quarter-finals 6th of 8 4 2 0 2 5 5 10 8 0 2 26 8
Sweden 2013 7th of 8 4 1 1 2 3 5 10 9 1 0 35 0
Netherlands 2017 Group stage 12th of 16 3 1 0 2 5 6 8 6 0 2 26 8
England 2022 13th of 16 3 0 1 2 2 7 10 8 1 1 37 5
Switzerland 2025 To be determined To be determined
Total Best: Runners-up 12/14 35 8 7 20 38 63 104 71 19 14 263 76
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

All-time records

Head-to-head record

Key
 Positive balance (more wins than losses)
 Neutral balance (as many wins as losses)
 Negative balance (more losses than wins)

The following table shows Italy's all-time official international record per opponent:

Last updated: Italy vs South Africa, 2 August 2023. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

FIFA rankings

Below is a chart of Italy's FIFA ranking from 2003 to the present.

Top scorers

As of 24 July 2023

Highlighted names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

# Player Period Goals Caps Average
1 Elisabetta Vignotto 1970–1989 97 95 1.02
2 Carolina Morace 1978–1997 95 136 0.7
3 Cristiana Girelli 2011–present 54 104 0.52
4 Patrizia Panico 1996–2014 37 84 0.44
5 Daniela Sabatino 2011–present 31 74 0.42
6 Antonella Carta 1984–1999 30 110 0.27
Barbara Bonansea 2012–present 95 0.33
7 Ida Golin 1976–1987 29 41 0.71
9 Melania Gabbiadini 2011–2017 27 57 0.47
10 Valentina Giacinti 2015–present 22 66 0.33

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-18 20:54 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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