Italian national soccer team / European championships

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Italy
Italia
Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio
European Championship record scorer: Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano (3 each)
European Championship record players: Gianluigi Buffon (17)
Rank: 4th
Organizer: 1968, 1980
Balance sheet
38 European Championship games
16 wins
16 draws
6 defeats
39:27 goals
statistics
First European Championship game Italy 0: 0 aet USSR Naples ( ITA ); 5th June 1968
ItalyItaly Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union
Biggest European Championship victories Italy 2-0 Yugoslavia Rome ( ITA ); June 10, 1968 Italy 2-0 Denmark Cologne ( FRG ); June 17, 1988 Italy 2-0 Belgium Brussels ( BEL ); June 14, 2000 Italy 2-0 Romania Brussels ( BEL ); June 24, 2000 Italy 2-0 France Zurich ( SUI ); June 17, 2008 Italy 2-0 Ireland Poznan ( POL ); June 18, 2012 Italy 2-0 Belgium Lyon ( FRA ); June 13, 2016 Italy 2-0 Spain St-Denis ( FRA ); June 27, 2016
ItalyItaly Yugoslavia Socialist Federal RepublicYugoslavia

ItalyItaly DenmarkDenmark

ItalyItaly BelgiumBelgium

ItalyItaly RomaniaRomania

ItalyItaly FranceFrance

ItalyItaly IrelandIreland

ItalyItaly BelgiumBelgium

ItalyItaly SpainSpain
Biggest European Championship defeat Italy 0: 4 Spain Kiev ( UKR ); July 1, 2012
ItalyItaly SpainSpain
successes
European Championship
Participation in the finals 9 ( first : 1968 )
Best results European Champion 1968
Best results in the countries where the UEFA European Football Championships are held
Italian European Championship placements.PNG
(As of October 12, 2019)

The article contains a detailed description of the Italian national football team at European championships . Italy took part in the finals of the European Championship for the ninth time in 2016 and was once European champion and twice runner-up, losing in the final to the reigning world champion.

Overview

Italy is taking part in the European Championship finals for the ninth time and has hosted twice. The best results so far were first place in 1968 and second places in 2000 and 2012.

year Host country Participation until ... Last opponent Result Trainer Comments and special features
1960 France not participated
1964 Spain not qualified In the second round at the defending champion and later vice European champions USSR failed.
1968 Italy final Yugoslavia European champion Ferruccio Valcareggi Win in replay
1972 Belgium not qualified In the quarter-finals to eventual third parties Belgium failed.
1976 Yugoslavia not qualified In qualifying later in the Third Netherlands failed.
1980 Italy 3rd place match Czechoslovakia Fourth Enzo Bearzot Loss on penalties in the last European Championship game for third place
1984 France not qualified Failed to qualify as World Champion by Romania .
1988 Germany Semifinals USSR - Azeglio Vicini
1992 Sweden not qualified In the qualification of the USSR failed.
1996 England Preliminary round Germany , Russia , Czech Republic - Arrigo Sacchi After a win against Russia, a defeat against the eventual runner-up in the Czech Republic, and a draw against eventual European champions Germany, they were eliminated in third place in the group.
2000 Belgium and the Netherlands final France Vice European champion Dino Zoff Golden Goal defeat
2004 Portugal Preliminary round Bulgaria , Denmark , Sweden - Giovanni Trapattoni After two draws against Denmark and Sweden and a win against Bulgaria due to the poorer goal difference, eliminated as third in the group.
2008 Austria and Switzerland Quarter finals Spain - Roberto Donadoni Defeat on penalties against the eventual European champions
2012 Poland and Ukraine final Spain Vice European champion Cesare Prandelli In the preliminary round, the Italians faced world champions and defending champions Spain , Croatia and Ireland . England was defeated in the quarter-finals and Germany in the semi-finals.
2016 France Quarter finals Germany - Antonio Conte After victories against Belgium and Sweden , Italy were already the group winners before the last group match against Ireland . Defending champion Spain was dethroned in the round of 16. Eliminated against Germany in a tournament in the quarter-finals for the first time (defeat on penalties)
2021 Europe qualified With the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy provides a venue for three group games and a quarter-final match, but had to qualify, which succeeded on October 12, 2019 and will then play three games in the group stage in Rome and meet Switzerland, Turkey and Wales there.

EM 1960

Like many other teams, Italy did not take part in the first European football championship in 1960, which was still called the "European Cup of Nations".

EM 1964

Four years later, more teams than 1960 wanted to participate, including Italy. Therefore, the round of 16 was preceded by a preliminary round . Italy, which had been coached by Edmondo Fabbri since the preliminary round at the 1962 World Cup , had to play against Turkey and won the home game 6-0 and the second leg 1-0. In the round of 16 they met defending champions Soviet Union and lost 2-0 in Moscow . In the second leg in Rome it was only enough to a 1-1, so that Italy were eliminated. Fabbri initially stayed in office, but after the sensational preliminary round at the 1966 World Cup against North Korea , his time as national coach ended. The USSR then reached the finals again, but lost the title there to Spain .

EM 1968

Lineups in the first final game
The crew on an Ajman postage stamp
Lineups in the second final game

For the European Football Championship in 1968, group games were scheduled for the first time in qualifying . Italy had to face Romania , Switzerland and Cyprus . Italy, coached by Ferruccio Valcareggi under sole responsibility since 1967 , won five games and played one draw in Switzerland. With that, Italy qualified as group winners for the quarter-finals, five points ahead of Romania. In this they met Bulgaria . After a 2: 3 in Sofia they were able to qualify with a 2-0 in the second leg in Naples for the finals, which they were then allowed to host.

In the semifinals on June 5, 1968, they met Vice European Champion Soviet Union in Naples. Since neither team scored a goal in 120 minutes, the lot had to decide for the only time at a European Championship . The German referee Kurt Tschenscher actually wanted to decide the coins in the center circle of the playing field in the presence of the two team captains Giacinto Facchetti and Juri Istomin . The two association presidents, Valentin Granatkin and Artemio Franchi , turned against this , demanding that the coin toss be carried out in a closed room. Both met with the referee in his cabin, while the two team captains had to wait in front of the cabin door and the teams on the pitch. Granatkin first asked for a trial throw, the second throw should be the decisive one. Italy was thereby determined as the winner. If the first had already counted, the USSR would have moved into the final. Since everyone involved felt that the coin toss was a great injustice, it was hardly ever used in international tournaments.

See also: List of drawing lots in football

In the final, the Italians then met Yugoslavia , who had prevailed against world champions England in their semi-finals . Both Italians and Yugoslavs met this time, but both only once in 120 minutes. This time there was no drawing of lots, but a replay two days later. Italy won 2-0 and became the first team to become world and Olympic champions before, also European champions, drawing level with Uruguay, which had also been world and South American champions and Olympic champions. Luigi Riva was also the top scorer of the entire competition with seven goals.

European Championship 1972

For the European Championship finals in 1972, Italy could then - although favored as runner-up - not qualify . In a group with Ireland , Austria and Sweden , Italy was able to win the group with four wins and two draws, but then surprisingly failed in the quarter-finals to Belgium , which was then allowed to host the final and finished third. Valcareggi initially remained in office, but after the preliminary round at the 1974 World Cup , his tenure as national coach ended.

EM 1976

In 1976 the final round was held for the last time with four teams. Italy failed after the preliminary round at the 1974 World Cup , after Fulvio Bernardini had initially taken over the coaching position, this time already in the group stage to runner-up world champions Netherlands and World Cup third Poland , against whom the surprising preliminary round came at the 1974 World Cup and now only get two goalless draws. Only Finland , but also against the home game only 0: 0 was played, the Italians could still leave behind. Enzo Bearzot took over the coaching position in the ongoing qualification . He could not turn the tide, but remained in office and then led Italy to four major tournaments and won the World Cup title with Italy at the 1982 World Cup. The Dutch reached the final round in Yugoslavia as group winners, but surprisingly failed in the semifinals against Czechoslovakia , who then dethroned defending champion Germany in the final with a penalty shoot-out , which was also introduced after the experience of the EM semifinals of 1968.

EM 1980

The 1980 European Football Championship was held for the first time with eight teams and for the first time the host was known in advance so that he did not have to qualify. The Federal Republic of Germany, England, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland were involved as organizers. On October 19, 1977 UEFA announced that England or Italy should host the European Championship and on November 12, 1977 Italy was announced as the host. Italy therefore did not have to qualify.

In the final round, a group stage took place for the first time, in which 4 teams each played once against each other and the best team in each group reached the final while the second best team played the last game for third place. Italy faced Spain in their first game and only had a goalless draw. In the second game against England they won 1-0 with a goal from Marco Tardelli in the 79th minute. Since the third group opponent Belgium had won 2-1 against Spain and played 1-1 against England, Italy and Belgium both had 3-1 points and the same goal difference before the last game, but the Belgians scored more goals overall. A draw against Italy was enough for Belgium to reach the final, Italy had to win. The Belgian team of coach Guy Thys had perfected the offside trap and the Italians barely managed to overcome it or they failed against Belgian goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff , so the game ended 0-0. Belgium was in the final of Rome , where they lost to Germany, which became the first team to become European champions for the second time. Italy lost the game for third place against the defending champion Czechoslovakia on penalties 8: 9.

EM 1984

In qualifying for the European Championship in France in 1984, the Italians, who had become world champions at the 1982 World Cup and were therefore considered favorites, had to compete in Group 5 against Romania , Sweden , Czechoslovakia and Cyprus . The Italians started with three draws, then lost four games and only won the last game against Cyprus, so they ended up only finishing fourth. Nevertheless, Bearzot initially remained in office. Group winners were Romania, which failed in the final round in the group stage.

EM 1988

The qualification for the EM in Germany then went better. Trains them now were from Azeglio Vicini , who after Achtelfinalaus in the 1986 World Cup veteran Enzo Bearzot had followed. In a group again with Sweden, Portugal , Switzerland and Malta , in which only Malta did not win a game, Italy won the group with six wins, one draw and one defeat.

In Germany they were drawn into a group with hosts Germany , Denmark and Spain . In the opening game against the hosts they took the lead after a goalless first half in the 53rd minute with a goal from Roberto Mancini . Only three minutes later, however, Andreas Brehme was able to equalize. It stayed that way until the end of the game. Italy then beat the Spaniards 1-0 in their second game with a goal from Gianluca Vialli . Two substitutions were decisive against Denmark: first Alessandro Altobelli scored the 1-0 immediately after being substituted on in the 66th minute, Luigi De Agostini then increased to 2-0 in the 87th minute, two minutes after being substituted on. Since Germany had also won against Spain and Denmark, but scored one more goal, Italy finished second in the group and met the USSR in the semi-finals. The USSR was superior to Italy both playfully and tactically, winning 2-0. Since there has been no match for third place since 1984, the European Championship was over for Italy. In the final, the USSR met opponents in the preliminary round, the Netherlands, who were able to take back the favor after losing 1-0 in the preliminary round and won a major title for the first time after losing two World Cup finals by 2-0. The Italian Alessandro Altobelli was together with the Belgian Nico Claesen and the Dutch Marco van Basten the top scorer of the entire competition with 7 goals each.

EM 1992

In qualifying for the European Championship in 1992 , Italy then met the Soviet Union again, as well as Norway , Hungary and Cyprus. The Italians started with two draws, then won two games, but then surprisingly lost in Norway. After two more draws, the last win against Cyprus only reached second place behind the collapsing Soviet Union. This then took part in the European Championship finals without the Baltic States as the Commonwealth of Independent States , but failed there in the group stage. National coach Azeglio Vicini resigned after the failure, the office is now taken over by Arrigo Sacchi , who had won the European Cup in 1989 and 1990 with AC Milan .

EM 1996

Azerbaijani postage stamp on the game against Russia

For the European Championship in England in 1996, which was held for the first time with 16 teams, the Italians had to qualify against Croatia , Lithuania , Ukraine , Slovenia and Estonia , all of which participated for the first time. Italy and Croatia both won seven games, drew twice and lost one game. Croatia had won the direct comparison against Italy as well as the better goal difference and qualified as group winners for the first time for the European Championship finals. Italy was also directly qualified as the best runner-up in the group.

In England, Italy was drawn into a group with Russia , which had succeeded the USSR, the Czech Republic, which was also there for the first time, and record European champions Germany. The opening game against Russia was won 2-1 with two goals from Pierluigi Casiraghi . In the second game against the Czechs they had to play undernumbered for an hour, as Luigi Apolloni received a yellow-red card in the 29th minute . After 35 minutes it was 1: 2 and it stayed that way until the end. Italy and the Czech Republic both had three points before the last game, Germany led with six points and only needed one point from the last game against Italy to reach the quarter-finals without arithmetic tricks. Italy already had the chance to take the lead with a penalty in the ninth minute, but Gianfranco Zola failed against German goalkeeper Andreas Köpke . Even after that Italy was the better team, but could not use the thirty-minute excess after the yellow-red card for Thomas Strunz , so that the game ended goalless. Germany were group winners in the quarter-finals and Italy also believed they were there, as the Russians led 3-2 in the parallel game. In the final minute, the Czechs managed to equalize. The Czechs were second in the group because they had won the direct match against Italy. For Italy the EM ended prematurely and Sacchi was replaced by Cesare Maldini as national coach. Germans and Czechs met again in the final, which the Germans won with a golden goal and thus became the first team to become European champions for the third time, but then did not win a European Championship game until 2008.

EM 2000

Tifosi at the EM
Lineups before the final France (left) - Italy (right)

After losing in the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup , Dino Zoff , captain and goalkeeper of the 1982 world championship team, took over as national coach. For the EM 2000 the Italians had to compete in the qualification against Denmark , Switzerland, Wales and Belarus and took first place. They only lost the home game against Denmark on the penultimate matchday, which meant that Denmark secured second place to make it into the playoffs of runners-up against Israel .

In the finals, which was held in two countries for the first time, Italy was drawn into the group with co-hosts Belgium, Sweden and Turkey . The Italians won the opening game against the Turks 2-1, which Filippo Inzaghi secured with a converted penalty. A 2-0 win against Belgium followed and with a 2-1 win against Sweden, the Italians won all three group games for the first time. In the quarter-finals they met Romania, who had eliminated defending champions Germany and England in their group. The Italians scored two goals in the first half, did not allow any of the Romanians and defended the 2-0 until the end. In the semifinals, the second co-host Netherlands was the opponent. Italy were outnumbered from the 34th minute onwards as Gianluca Zambrotta received the yellow-red card. The Dutch could not use this advantage, missed two penalties and therefore the penalty shoot-out had to decide after 120 goalless minutes . Although could Paolo Maldini as the fourth Italian shooter does not turn, but three Dutch people did not make it better and failed, as in the normal time, so Italy with 3: 1 won the penalty shoot-out. In the final, world champions France were the opponents. After a goalless first half, Marco Delvecchio gave Italy a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute and it stayed that way until the 90th minute. Then Sylvain Wiltord managed to equalize. In the following extra time, David Trezeguet scored the golden goal in the 103rd minute to win the European Championship for the French, who became the first world champions to become European champions. National coach Zoff resigned from his position as national coach after the lost final.

EM 2004

In qualifying for the 2004 European Championship, Italy met Wales , the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (from February 2003 as Serbia and Montenegro), Finland and Azerbaijan . They have now been trained by Giovanni Trapattoni , the most successful club coach in Europe. The qualification remained open until the last matchday. Then Italy won 4-0 against bottom of the table Azerbaijan, while the second-placed Welsh lost their home game 3-2 against Serbia and Montenegro. Italy were group winners, Wales failed in the playoffs of the group runners-up to Russia.

In Portugal, the Italians were drawn into a group with Sweden , Bulgaria and Denmark . In the first game, the Danes and Italians parted goalless. The second game against Sweden ended 1-1. Since the Danes and Swedes had won against Bulgaria, a 2-2 (or greater draw) was enough for them to advance in the last game - regardless of the outcome of the parallel game between Italy and Bulgaria, which Italy won 2-1. And the game ended with this dream result for both of them. Since the Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen caused the Swedes to equalize 2-2 in the 90th minute, the Italian media suspected an agreement. The ironic statement of the Danish coach Morten Olsen ("Of course we will make a deal.") Caused a stir. Italy was eliminated early and Trapattoni's contract as national coach was not extended. Danes and Swedes then failed in the quarter-finals.

EM 2008

Scene from the game against the Netherlands

Four years later, after winning the 2006 World Cup , Italy had to qualify for the next European Championship against France, the opponents in the 2006 final, Scotland , Ukraine , Lithuania , Georgia and the Faroe Islands . The Italians were now coached by Roberto Donadoni , as Marcello Lippi had resigned after winning the world title. Italy lost the World Cup revenge in France 1: 3 in the second game, but did not lose another game afterwards. With nine wins and two draws, the French took first place, but they were also qualified for the finals.

At the finals, which again took place in two countries, Italy and France were once again drawn into one group, as were the Dutch and Romania. On June 2, 2008, captain Fabio Cannavaro tore a ligament on his left ankle during training and had to forego participating in the European Championship. Italy could not compensate for this failure in the game against the Dutch and lost 3-0. Against Romania there was then a 1-1 draw, with which the Italians kept their chance of reaching the quarter-finals. In the last game against the French with equal points, they won 2-0 and benefited from the fact that the Dutch won against the Romanians even without some spared regular players. Italy was in the quarter-finals and met Spain, but had to do without strategists Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso after the second yellow card . Since both teams failed to score in 120 minutes, the penalty shoot-out had to decide again. The focus here was on the world's best goalkeepers Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas at the time . But since the Spaniard was able to save two penalties while Buffon was only successful once, Spain won the penalty shootout 4-2 (the last Italian did not have to play again). Spain then reached the final for the third time and won it 1-0 against Germany. After the EM-Aus Donadoni was dismissed, his successor became his predecessor, who however resigned after the preliminary round at the 2010 World Cup .

EM 2012

The team before the quarter-finals in 2012 against England
Scene from the group game against Spain

Four years later, the Italians were able to qualify again . They have now been trained by Cesare Prandelli . In a group with Estonia , Serbia , Slovenia , Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands, they confidently prevailed as group winners with a 10 point lead over Estonia. The game between Italy and Serbia on October 12, 2010 was inglorious, as Serbian hooligans rioted and fireworks flew onto the field. The game was abandoned after just six minutes and UEFA rated Italy 3-0. The second-placed Estonians had to go to the playoffs of the group runners-up against Ireland . After a 4-0 home game and a 1-1 draw in Ireland, they were eliminated.

At the finals, which again took place in two countries, the Italians were drawn into a group with defending champions and world champions Spain , the Irish trained by Italian Giovanni Trapattoni and Croatia. In the opening game against the world champions and against Croatia, they each achieved a 1-1 draw. A 2-0 win against the Irish followed and since Spain beat Croatia, Italy finished second in the group. They were in the quarter-finals against England. As both teams missed to score goals in 120 minutes, another penalty shoot-out was due, with which neither had always had good experiences. And of two weak penalty takers, the Italians were a little better this time, as only Riccardo Montolivo shot past the goal, while two Englishmen failed either on the crossbar or Buffon. Italy was in the semi-finals against Germany, against whom a competitive game has never been lost. And this time too, the Italians retained the upper hand thanks to Mario Balotelli , who scored both goals in a 2-1 win. In the final, the opening game against Spain was repeated. But this time Italy had no chance and lost 4-0, the biggest defeat in a European Championship final. Spain became European champions for the third time, drawing level with Germany. In addition, the Spaniards were the first team after Uruguay, which became South American champions in 1922 and 1924 and Olympic champions in 1924, to win three titles in a row.

Prandelli initially remained in office, but resigned after the preliminary round at the 2014 World Cup .

For the first time, the current world champion (Spain) and his predecessor (Italy) met at this European Championship. Ten players from the World Cup finals were used in the preliminary round for Spain and three for Italy. Previously, this encounter was not possible because for the first time in 2006 and 2010 two European teams became world champions in succession. As early as 2008, the then world champions Italy and their successors Spain faced each other in the quarter-finals, with Italy playing 8 players from the 2006 World Cup final and Spain playing 9 players from the 2010 final.

EM 2016

For the first time, 24 teams took part in the European Championship. Italy was placed in Pot 1 for the qualifying group draw , which took place on February 23, 2014. The opponents drawn were Croatia , Norway , Bulgaria , Azerbaijan and Malta .

The first two in the group qualified directly for the European Championship finals. If the third-placed team had finished third in the group, they would also qualify directly. The remaining third in the group played four other participants in the playoffs.

Italy, which has been coached by Antonio Conte since the preliminary round at the 2014 World Cup , started the qualification with three wins, but then only achieved a 1-1 draw against Croatia and a 2-2 draw in Bulgaria. After half of the games Italy was in second place behind Croatia, which won all games except for the draw in Italy. After another 1-1 in Croatia, three wins followed and on the penultimate matchday Italy qualified for the finals. Since Croatia lost in Norway on the third to last game day, Italy was also able to take the lead, which they defended on the last game day with a win at home against Norway. Italy was one of the only four teams that did not lose a game.

For the group draw on December 12, 2015, Italy was only assigned to Pot 2 despite the sixth best UEFA coefficient , as France, as hosts, was placed in Pot 1 with a poorer coefficient. Italy could therefore already meet hosts France, defending champions Spain and world champions Germany in the group stage. Ultimately, the Italians were drawn to the then FIFA world number one Belgium, who won the opening game 2-0. In addition, Sweden, the second opponent drawn in the second game, were defeated 1-0, so that the Italians were already qualified for the round of 16 before the third game against Ireland. So they could cope with the 1-0 defeat against the Irish and spare some regular players for the round of 16 against Spain. Against the Spaniards, the Italians took an offensive strategy and took the lead in the 33rd minute through defensive boss Giorgio Chiellini , who dusted off after a free kick that the Spanish goalkeeper could not hold. Even after that, the Italians had the better scoring chances, but couldn't use any of them. In the second half they had to pay more and more tribute to their great efforts and the Spaniards got better into the game. They did not succeed in forcing the equalizer, instead Graziano Pellè was able to make everything clear with his second tournament goal in stoppage time. In the quarter-finals, they met world champions Germany, their favorite opponent in competitive games. Italy was able to compensate for the Germans' opening goal from the 65th minute with a converted hand penalty , but then lost 5-6 on penalties and was eliminated for the first time in a tournament against Germany.

EM 2021

Italy had also applied to host group and knockout games for the pan-European European Championship and was accepted for three group games, including the opening game and a quarter-finals in the Olympic Stadium in Rome . Like all other host countries, Italy had to qualify for the finals. As head of group J , the Italians Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina , Armenia , Greece and Liechtenstein were drawn by lot. The Italians who have been coached by Roberto Mancini since May 2018 and who could not qualify for the 2018 World Cup , won all games in the European Championship qualification for the first time. They qualified early on October 12, 2019 after their first seven games for the finals. The last game they won 9-1 against Armenia - the Italians only scored more goals in their 11-3 win against Egypt in the game for third place at the 1928 Olympic Games .

At the draw on November 30, 2019, the Italians, who are allowed to play all three group matches, including the opening match, in Rome , were drawn from Switzerland - the Italians' most frequent opponents - Turkey and Wales.

Player with the most appearances in European championships

Gianluigi Buffon , the sole Italian record player since 2016
Games player Year (games)
17th Gianluigi Buffon 2004 (3), 2008 (4), 2012 (6), 2016 (4)
13 Antonio Cassano 2004 (3), 2008 (4), 2012 (6)
Alessandro Del Piero 1996 (1), 2000 (6), 2004 (3), 2008 (3)
Paolo Maldini 1988 (4), 1996 (3), 2000 (6)
12 Giorgio Chiellini 2008 (3), 2012 (5), 2016 (4)
Daniele De Rossi 2008 (3), 2012 (6), 2016 (3)
11 Leonardo Bonucci 2012 (6), 2016 (5)
Andrea Pirlo 2004 (2), 2008 (3), 2012 (6)
Gianluca Zambrotta 2000 (4), 2004 (3), 2008 (4)
10 Andrea Barzagli 2008 (1), 2012 (4), 2016 (5)
Stefano Fiore 2000 (6), 2004 (3)
Thiago Motta 2012 (5), 2016 (4)
Alessandro Nesta 1996 (0), 2000 (6), 2004 (3)
8th Demetrio Albertini 1996 (3), 2000 (5)
Fabio Cannavaro 2000 (6), 2004 (2)

As of July 2, 2016

Player with the most goals at European championships

Gates player Year (goals)
3 Mario Balotelli 2012 (3)
Antonio Cassano 2004 (2), 2008 (0), 2012 (1)
2 Pierluigi Casiraghi 1996 (2)
Filippo Inzaghi 2000 (2)
Graziano Pellè 2016 (2)
Andrea Pirlo 2004 (0), 2008 (1), 2012 (1)
Francesco Totti 2000 (2), 2004 (0)
1 23 players

As of July 2, 2016

Players banned from European championships

  • In 1988 Riccardo Ferri received the second yellow card in the semi-finals ; since there was no match for third place, it had no effect.
  • In 1996 Luigi Apolloni received the yellow-red card in the second group game and was suspended for the last group game.
  • In 2000 Gianluca Zambrotta received the yellow-red card in the semifinals and was suspended for the final. In this Luigi Di Biagio received the second yellow card, which however no longer had any effect.
  • In 2004 Gennaro Gattuso received the second yellow card in the second group game and was suspended for the last group game. Francesco Totti was subsequently suspended for three games after the first group match, as television pictures clearly showed that he had spat on his opponent Christian Poulsen . Since Italy were eliminated after the preliminary round, the third game was the first game in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.
  • In 2008, Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo received their second yellow card in the last group game and were suspended for the quarter-finals.
  • In 2012 Christian Maggio received the second yellow card in the quarter-finals and was suspended for the semi-finals. Mario Balotelli , Leonardo Bonucci , Daniele De Rossi and Thiago Motta received the second yellow card in the semifinals, since the cards from the preliminary round were no longer taken into account after the quarter-finals, they could be used in the final. Andrea Barzagli received the second yellow card in the final, which also had no effect.
  • In 2016 Thiago Motta received the second yellow card in the round of 16 and was suspended for the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals Mattia De Sciglio and Graziano Pellè also received the second yellow card, but this had no effect as Italy were eliminated.

Share of players playing abroad in the EM squad

Legionnaires were only appointed to the last three cadres, but also made up the minority there.

Year (games) Number (countries) Players (stakes)
1968 (3) 0
1980 (4) 0
1988 (4) 0
1996 (3) 0
2000 (6) 0
2004 (3) 0
2008 (4) 4 (1 in Germany, 1 in France, 2 in Spain) Luca Toni (4); Fabio Grosso (4); Morgan De Sanctis (0), Gianluca Zambrotta (4)
2012 (6) 3 (1 in England, 2 in France) Mario Balotelli (6); Thiago Motta (5), Salvatore Sirigu (0)
2016 (5) 5 (3 in England, 2 in France) Graziano Pellè (4), Matteo Darmian (4), Angelo Ogbonna (1); Thiago Motta (4), Salvatore Sirigu (1)

As of July 2, 2016

Records

  • Most clean sheets: 18
  • Most draw games: 16 (including games decided by penalty shootouts)
  • The most frequent pairings: Italy – Spain (6 games, 1 × in the final, 1 × in the quarter-finals, 1 × in the second round, 3 × in the preliminary round)
  • Most overtime matches: Italy (8) Netherlands (7)
  • Most penalty shoot-outs: Italy (5), England, the Netherlands and Spain (4 each)
  • Most of the penalties were converted in the penalty shoot-out in the game Czechoslovakia - Italy (European Championship 1980, play for third place). The goal scorers were successful 17 times, with a rate of 94.4%.
  • Dino Zoff was the only one to reach the final both as a player (1968) and as a coach (2000), but could only win the title as a player.
  • Most of the referees came from Italy (12/28 games) - as of June 26, 2016.

Negative records

  • The biggest defeat in the final: Italy 0-4 Spain (2012)
  • First yellow-red card : Luigi Apolloni on June 14, 1996 in the 29th minute of the group match Czech Republic - Italy
  • Most games without scoring: Italy and Denmark (12 each)
  • Most of the players who missed a single penalty shootout: 4 on July 2nd, 2016 at 5-6 i. E. against Germany

Record against the other European champions at European championships

  • Spain: 5 games (including 1 final) 1 win, 2 draws (1 defeat new), 2 defeats, 2: 5 goals (2: 4)
  • Germany: 4 games, 1 win, 3 draws (1 defeat n.E.) 4: 3 goals (5: 6 oe)
  • USSR / CIS / Russia: 3 games, 1 wins, 1 draw (won by lot), 1 defeat 2: 3 goals
  • Denmark: 2 games, 1 win, 1 draw, 2-0 goals
  • France: 2 games (including 1 final), 1 win, 1 loss, 1: 2 goals
  • Netherlands: 2 games, 1 draw (1 win new), 1 loss, 0: 3 goals (3: 1)
  • Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic: 2 games, 1 draw (1 defeat as a result), 1 defeat, 2: 3 goals (8: 9 as a result)
  • Greece: no game
  • Portugal: no game

Games

Venues (E = Eindhoven, green = positive balance, yellow = balanced balance, red = negative balance, bold = final game location, number in brackets = number of games, if> 1)

Italy has played 38 European Championship games so far, 16 of which have been won, six have been lost (the fewest of all teams with at least 8 appearances) and 16 have ended in a draw (most of all teams). Eight games had to be extended. Of these, one was won by drawing lots, one repeated, one lost to a golden goal , two won on penalties and three lost.

Italy has had seven home games so far, only France had more home games since 2016 (11). Italy played their first game as hosts once, took part in the opening game against the hosts once and played against both co-hosts in 2000.

Italy played four times, in 1980 in the game for third place against the already dethroned, in 2012 in the preliminary round and in the final against the defending champion, who was the first to successfully defend his title and thus against the eventual European champions and in 2016 in the round of 16 in which the Italians won the title threw the tournament. Italy also played against the eventual European champions in 1996 (in the preliminary round), 2000 (in the final) and 2008 (in the quarter-finals). In 2000, 2012 and 2016 Italy failed against the reigning world champions (France, Spain and Germany). In all other participations where Italy did not become European champion, the world champion came from South America (1980, 1988 and 1996) or Italy was world champion itself (2008).

  • There was only one country with the highest victory in an EM tournament:
    • DenmarkDenmark Denmark : Preliminary round 1988 2-0 (also 2-0 each in a tournament in Sweden and in the 1982 World Cup qualification, 3-1 in the 2014 World Cup qualification and in a friendly match)
  • The Italian team suffered their biggest defeat at an EM tournament against the following countries:
    • NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands : preliminary round 2008 0-3
    • SpainSpain Spain : 2012 final 0-4
    • Czech RepublicCzech Republic Czech Republic : Preliminary round 1996 1: 2 (also a 0: 1 in a friendly game)
    • Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union : Semi-finals 1988 0-2 (also a 0-2 in the round of 16 of the 1964 European Championship qualification)
All EM games
No. date Result opponent venue occasion Remarks
1 06/05/1968 0: 0 a.d. Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union H Naples Semifinals Victory by tossing a coin, 275th international match
2 06/08/1968 1: 1 a.d. Yugoslavia Socialist Federal RepublicYugoslavia Yugoslavia H Rome final
3 06/10/1968 2-0 Yugoslavia Socialist Federal RepublicYugoslavia Yugoslavia H Rome Final (replay) Only European title
4th 06/12/1980 0-0 Spain 1977Spain Spain H Milan Preliminary round
5 06/15/1980 1-0 EnglandEngland England H Turin Preliminary round
6th 06/18/1980 0-0 BelgiumBelgium Belgium H Rome Preliminary round
7th 06/21/1980 1: 1 a.d.
8: 9 i. E.
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia Czechoslovakia (TV) H Naples 3rd place match First penalty shoot-out
8th 06/10/1988 1: 1 Germany Federal RepublicFederal Republic of Germany BR Germany A. Dusseldorf ( Germany ) Opening game
9 06/14/1988 1-0 SpainSpain Spain * Frankfurt am Main ( Germany ) Preliminary round
10 06/17/1988 2-0 DenmarkDenmark Denmark * Cologne ( FRG ) Preliminary round
11 06/22/1988 0: 2 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union * Stuttgart ( FRG ) Semifinals
12 06/11/1996 2: 1 RussiaRussia Russia * Liverpool ( ENG ) Preliminary round First international match against Russia
13 06/14/1996 1: 2 Czech RepublicCzech Republic Czech Republic * Liverpool ( ENG ) Preliminary round First international match against the Czech Republic
14th 06/19/1996 0-0 GermanyGermany Germany * Manchester ( ENG ) Preliminary round Last international match under Arrigo Sacchi
15th 06/11/2000 2: 1 TurkeyTurkey Turkey * Arnhem ( NLD ) Preliminary round
16 06/14/2000 2-0 BelgiumBelgium Belgium A. Brussels ( BEL ) Preliminary round
17th 06/19/2000 2: 1 SwedenSweden Sweden * Eindhoven ( NLD ) Preliminary round
18th 06/24/2000 2-0 RomaniaRomania Romania * Brussels ( BEL ) Quarter finals
19th 06/29/2000 0: 0 n.v.
3: 1 i. E.
NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands A. Amsterdam ( NLD ) Semifinals
20th 07/02/2000 1: 2 a.d. FranceFrance France * Rotterdam ( NLD ) final Golden goal from David Trezeguet
Last international game under Dino Zoff
21st 06/14/2004 0-0 DenmarkDenmark Denmark * Guimarães ( PRT ) EM 2004 preliminary round
22nd 06/18/2004 1: 1 SwedenSweden Sweden * Postage ( PRT ) EM 2004 preliminary round
23 06/22/2004 2: 1 BulgariaBulgaria Bulgaria * Guimarães ( PRT ) EM 2004 preliminary round Last international match under Giovanni Trapattoni
24 06/09/2008 0: 3 NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands * Bern ( SUI ) Euro 2008 preliminary round Biggest defeat against the Netherlands
25th 06/13/2008 1: 1 RomaniaRomania Romania * Zurich ( SUI ) Euro 2008 preliminary round
26th 06/17/2008 2-0 FranceFrance France * Zurich ( SUI ) Euro 2008 preliminary round
27 06/22/2008 0: 0 n.v.
2: 4 i. E.
SpainSpain Spain * Vienna ( AUT ) EM 2008 quarter-finals 23rd and last international match under Roberto Donadoni
28 06/10/2012 1: 1 SpainSpain Spain (TV) * Gdansk ( POL ) EM 2012 preliminary round
29 06/14/2012 1: 1 CroatiaCroatia Croatia * Poznan ( POL ) Preliminary round
30th 06/18/2012 2-0 IrelandIreland Ireland * Poznan ( POL ) Preliminary round
31 06/24/2012 0: 0 n.v.
4: 2 i. E.
EnglandEngland England * Kiev ( UKR ) Quarter finals
32 06/28/2012 2: 1 GermanyGermany Germany * Warsaw ( POL ) Semifinals
33 07/01/2012 0: 4 SpainSpain Spain (TV) * Kiev ( UKR ) final Biggest defeat against Spain
34 06/13/2016 2-0 BelgiumBelgium Belgium * Décines-Charpieu ( Lyon ) ( FRA ) Preliminary round
35 06/17/2016 1-0 SwedenSweden Sweden * Toulouse ( FRA ) Preliminary round
36 06/22/2016 0: 1 IrelandIreland Ireland * Villeneuve-d'Ascq ( Lille ) ( FRA ) Preliminary round
37 06/27/2016 2-0 SpainSpain Spain (TV) * Saint-Denis ( FRA ) Round of 16
38 07/02/2016 1: 1; 5: 6 i. E. GermanyGermany Germany * Bordeaux , ( FRA ) Quarter finals First tournament against Germany, last game under Antonio Conte
06/11/2021 TurkeyTurkey Turkey H Rome Opening game
June 16, 2021 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland H Rome Preliminary round
06/20/2021 WalesFlag of Wales (1959 – present) .svg Wales H Rome Preliminary round

See also

Individual evidence

  1. This account of what happened comes from the referee in an interview with 11Freunde magazine , in the UEFA match report it was the two captains who took part in the coin toss with their supervisors in the dressing room and UEFA names Albert Schesternjow as captain in the match schedule .
  2. ^ Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling: The history of the European football championship, Verlag Die Werkstatt, ISBN 978-3-89533-553-2
  3. 20min.ch: "End station Öresund Bridge"
  4. Draw for the EURO qualification: Pot 1 in focus. In: uefa.com. UEFA , February 20, 2014, accessed March 11, 2014 .