Italy women's national football team

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.

Italy
Nickname(s)Le Azzurre
(The Blues)
AssociationItalian Football Federation
(FIGC)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachMilena Bertolini
CaptainSara Gama
Most capsPatrizia Panico (196)
Top scorerPatrizia Panico
Elisabetta Vignotto (107)
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeITA
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 14 (26 June 2020)[1]
Highest10 (July 2003)
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
Appearances3 (first in 1991)
Best resultQuarter-finals (1991, 2019)
European Championship
Appearances11 (first in 1984)
Best resultRunners-up (1993, 1997)

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,[2] the World Cup in 1970 that saw it lose the final against the aforementioned Danish national team,[3] competitions both organized in Italy, and the Mundial in Mexico in 1971 where they achieved third place.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[10] The world championship was organized in China, as Italy was drawn into Group 3 together with Germany, Chinese Taipei and Nigeria.[11] 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.[11]

1993–1999: Twice European Championship runners-up

The 1993 European Championship was hosted in Italy.[12] 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.[12] 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.[13] In the semi-final Italy beat Spain 2–1, but in the final, were defeated 2–0 by Germany.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16] 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.[17]

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.[18]

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.[19]

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),[20] 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.[21]

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.[22] 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.[23] However, with a 2–0 defeat to European Champions the Netherlands, Italy's World Cup journey came to an end on 29 June 2019.[24]

Managers
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– Milena Bertolini

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to compete at the 2020 Algarve Cup. The roster was announced on 20 February 2020.[25] Due to coronavirus fears following an outbreak in Lombardy, the four Milan-based players Valentina Bergamaschi, Laura Fusetti, Valentina Giacinti, and Linda Tucceri Cimini were removed from the squad and replaced with Agnese Bonfantini, Arianna Caruso, Martina Lenzini, and Alice Tortelli on 27 February 2020.[26][27]

Coach: Milena Bertolini

Caps and goals before the 2020 Algarve Cup.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Laura Giuliani (1993-06-06) 6 June 1993 40 0 Juventus
12 1GK Katja Schroffenegger (1991-04-28) 28 April 1991 12 0 Fiorentina
22 1GK Rachele Baldi (1994-10-02) 2 October 1994 0 0 Empoli
2 2DF Martina Lenzini (1998-07-23) 23 July 1998 0 0 Sassuolo
3 2DF Sara Gama (C) (1989-03-27) 27 March 1989 101 5 Juventus
5 2DF Elena Linari (1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 34 0 Bordeaux
7 2DF Alia Guagni (1987-10-01) 1 October 1987 67 5 Atlético Madrid
13 2DF Elisa Bartoli (1991-05-07) 7 May 1991 51 1 Roma
16 2DF Alice Tortelli (1998-01-22) 22 January 1998 0 0 Fiorentina
17 2DF Lisa Boattin (1997-05-03) 3 May 1997 14 0 Juventus
23 2DF Cecilia Salvai (1993-12-02) 2 December 1993 26 1 Juventus
4 3MF Aurora Galli (1996-12-13) 13 December 1996 28 4 Juventus
6 3MF Manuela Giugliano (1997-08-18) 18 August 1997 26 3 Roma
8 3MF Martina Rosucci (1992-05-09) 9 May 1992 37 1 Juventus
15 3MF Marta Mascarello (1998-10-15) 15 October 1998 0 0 Fiorentina
20 3MF Arianna Caruso (1999-11-06) 6 November 1999 2 0 Juventus
21 3MF Valentina Cernoia (1991-06-22) 22 June 1991 36 6 Juventus
9 4FW Daniela Sabatino (1985-06-26) 26 June 1985 49 21 Fiorentina
10 4FW Cristiana Girelli (1990-04-23) 23 April 1990 56 31 Juventus
11 4FW Barbara Bonansea (1991-06-13) 13 June 1991 54 19 Juventus
14 4FW Stefania Tarenzi (1988-02-29) 29 February 1988 3 1 Inter Milan
18 4FW Tatiana Bonetti (1991-12-15) 15 December 1991 0 0 Fiorentina
19 4FW Agnese Bonfantini (1999-07-04) 4 July 1999 1 0 Roma

Previous squads

Competitive record
CompetitionTotal
FIFA Women's World Cup 0000
Olympic Games 0000
UEFA Women's Championship 0213
Mediterranean Games 0000
Universiade 0 0 0 0
Total0213

FIFA Women's World Cup
Main article: Italy at the FIFA Women's World Cup
FIFA Women's World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
1991 Quarter-finals 6th of 12 420285
1995 Did not qualify
1999 Group stage 9th of 16 311133
2003 Did not qualify
2007
2011
2015
2019 Quarter-finals7th 530294
2023 To be determined
TotalBest: quarter-finals 3/9126152012
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship
UEFA Women's Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
1984 Semi-finals n/a 2 0 0 2 3 5
1987 Third place 3rd of 4 2 1 0 1 2 3
1989 Fourth place 4th of 4 2 0 1 1 2 3
1991 Fourth place 4th of 4 2 0 0 2 1 5
1993 Runners-up 2nd of 4 2 0 1 1 1 2
1995 Did not qualify
1997 Runners-up 2nd of 8 5 2 2 1 7 6
2001 Group stage n/a 3 1 1 1 3 4
2005 Group stage n/a 3 0 0 3 4 12
2009 Quarter-finals n/a 4 2 0 2 5 5
2013 Quarter-finals n/a 4 1 1 2 3 5
2017 Group stage n/a 3 1 0 2 5 6
2021 To be determined
Total Best: runners-up 11/12 32 8 6 18 36 56
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Recent results and matches

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

  Win   Draw   Loss

2019
29 August UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingIsrael 2–3 ItalyRamat Gan, Israel
17:30 (18:30 IDT)
Report
Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Attendance: 1,430
Referee: Volha Tsiareshka (Belarus)
3 September UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingGeorgia 0–1 ItalyTbilisi, Georgia
14:15 (16:15 GET) Report
Stadium: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium
Attendance: 150
Referee: Vivian Peeters (Netherlands)
4 October UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingMalta 0–2 ItalyTa' Qali, Malta
17:30 Report
Stadium: Centenary Stadium
Attendance: 764
Referee: Ivana Projkovska (North Macedonia)
8 October UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingItaly 2–0 Bosnia and HerzegovinaPalermo, Italy
17:30
Report Stadium: Stadio Renzo Barbera
Attendance: 5,100
Referee: Hristiyana Guteva (Bulgaria)
8 November UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingItaly 6–0 GeorgiaBenevento, Italy
17:30
Report Stadium: Stadio Ciro Vigorito
Attendance: 3,973
Referee: Iuliana Demetrescu (Romania)
12 November UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingItaly 5–0 MaltaCastel di Sangro, Italy
14:15
Report Stadium: Stadio Teofilo Patini
Attendance: 2,955
Referee: Eleni Antoniou (Greece)

2020
4 March 2020 Algarve Cup qualifyingPortugal 1–2 ItalyFaro/Loulé, Portugal
20:15 (21:15 CET)
Report
Stadium: Estádio Algarve
Referee: Francia González (Mexico)
7 March 2020 Algarve Cup SFNew Zealand 0–3 ItalyParchal, Portugal
21:00 (22:00 CET) Report
Stadium: Vista Municipal Stadium
Referee: Ivana Martinčić (Croatia)
11 March 2020 Algarve Cup FItaly Cancelled GermanyParchal, Portugal
18:45 (19:45 CET) Report Stadium: Vista Municipal Stadium
17 September UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingItaly v IsraelEmpoli, Italy
20:45 CET Report Stadium: Stadio Carlo Castellani
22 September UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingBosnia and Herzegovina v ItalyZenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Report
27 October UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingItaly v Denmark
Report
1 December UEFA Euro 2021 qualifyingDenmark v Italy
Report

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 Netherlands, 29 June 2019. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.[28]

FIFA rankings

Below is a chart of Italy's FIFA ranking from 2003 to the present.[29]

Player records

Top scorers
# Player Period Goals Caps Average
1 Elisabetta Vignotto 1970–1989 97 95 1.02
2 Carolina Morace 1978–2001 95 136 0.7
3 Cristiana Girelli 2011– 36 67 0.54
4 Patrizia Panico 1996–2014 35 83 0.42
5 Antonella Carta 1984–1999 30 110 0.27
6 Ida Golin 1976–1987 29 41 0.71
7 Melania Gabbiadini 2011–2017 26 56 0.46
8 Daniela Sabatino 2011– 25 61 0.41
9 Barbara Bonansea 2012– 23 63 0.37
10 Giuditta Schiavo 1970–1976 19 29 0.66

As of 7 March 2020.[28] Highlighted names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

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See also

Notes

    References
    1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
    2. "Coppa Europa per Nazioni (Women) 1969". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    3. "Coppa del Mondo (Women) 1970". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    4. "Mundial (Women) 1971". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    5. "Inofficial European Women Championship 1979". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    6. "Mundialito (Women) 1981-1988". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    7. uefa.com (14 July 1991). "Europeo femminile 1991 - Storia". UEFA.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    8. uefa.com (14 March 1987). "Europeo femminile 1987 - Storia". UEFA.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    9. uefa.com (2 July 1989). "Europeo femminile 1989 - Storia". UEFA.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    10. uefa.com (14 July 1991). "Europeo femminile 1991 - Storia". UEFA.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    11. "Women's World Cup 1991 (China)". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    12. uefa.com (4 July 1993). "Europeo femminile 1993 - Storia". UEFA.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    13. uefa.com (12 July 1997). "Europeo femminile 1997 - Storia". UEFA.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    14. "Women's World Cup 1999 (USA)". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    15. uefa.com (7 July 2001). "Europeo femminile 2001 - Storia". UEFA.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    16. uefa.com (19 June 2005). "Europeo femminile 2005 - Storia". UEFA.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    17. uefa.com (10 September 2009). "Europeo femminile 2009 - Storia". UEFA.com (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    18. Longman, Jeré (27 November 2010). "U.S. Tops Italy to Earn Spot in Women's World Cup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    19. uefa.com (1 August 2013). "UEFA Women's EURO 2013 - History". UEFA.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    20. "Italdonne, il "Piola" porta fortuna: travolta la Macedonia". LaStampa.it (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    21. uefa.com (6 August 2017). "UEFA Women's EURO 2017 - History". UEFA.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    22. "Trionfo Italia femminile, va al Mondiale: Portogallo battuto 3-0". Repubblica.it (in Italian). 8 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    23. "Italia, sei bellissima: 2-0 alla Cina e quarti di finale". La Gazzetta dello Sport - Tutto il rosa della vita (in Italian). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
    24. Bull, J. J. (29 June 2019). "Holland reach first ever Women's World Cup semi-final with two headed goals against Italy". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
    25. "L'Italia riparte dall'Algarve Cup: dopo l'infortunio rientra Salvai, tornano anche Bonetti e Schroffenegger" [Italy restarts for the Algarve Cup: Salvai returns after the injury, Bonetti and Schroffenegger also return] (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 20 February 2020.
    26. "Algarve Cup, convocata Stefania Tarenzi. Sabato la partenza per il Portogallo" [Algarve Cup, convened Stefania Tarenzi. Saturday departure for Portugal] (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. 27 February 2020.
    27. "Calcio femminile, modificato l'elenco delle convocate dell'Italia per l'Algarve Cup: indisponibili alcune giocatrici per l'allarme Coronavirus" [Women's football, the list of players called up for the Algarve Cup has been modified: some players unavailable due to the Coronavirus alarm] (in Italian). OA Sport. 28 February 2020.
    28. "Statistiche Gare" (in Italian). figc.it.
    29. FIFA.com. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Italy - Women's". FIFA.com. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
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