The Italy women's national football team () has represented

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in international women's football since their inception in 1968. The team is controlled by the

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation (, ; FIGC ), known colloquially as (), is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages a ...

(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 A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in 1970. Italy qualified for both the first

in 1991, where they reached the quarter-finals, and the first European Championship. While Italy were runners-up in the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, they are yet to replicate similar success at the

. In

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, 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 Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city in the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as well a ...

against

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. 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 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

), organized by

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

, and later the Women's World Cup, organized by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, 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 Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, the World Cup in 1970 that saw it lose the final against the aforementioned Danish national team, competitions both organized in

, and the Mundial in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

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 Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, 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 Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, 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 West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in the final and in 1986 overcoming the

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in the final, while in the other two editions it lost the final against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, being defeated both in the first leg, played at the Flaminio Stadium in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in front of 10,000 spectators, and in the return match in

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

. 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 Carolina Morace (; born 5 February 1964) is an Italian politician and former footballer, who played as a striker. She was most recently the head coach of Lazio Women. She played for the Italian national team and for various clubs in women's ...

and Elisabetta Vignotto. Italy were also confirmed in the 1989 edition, having passed the qualifying phase with a play-off win against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Italy finished fourth in the tournament, having lost the semi-final against

after a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, as well as in the third place match against Sweden

after extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Tie (draw), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is ...

. 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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

was organized in China, as Italy was drawn into Group 3 together with Germany,

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of 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

in the final play-off match, Italy overcame

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the semi-finals after a

. In the final, played at the Manuzzi Stadium in

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

, 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 Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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 Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, Germany and

. 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

, 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

, Norway and France, conceding twelve goals overall. Redemption came in the 2009 edition, with Italy defeating both

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, advancing to the knock-out stage as second-placed in the group behind

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 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

editions of the World Cup, Italy also failed to qualify for the 2011 edition in the intercontinental two-legged play-off between

and

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

. The United States won the first leg 1–0 in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

with a goal by

Alex Morgan Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American former professional association football, soccer player.She co-captained the United States women's national soccer team, United States national team with ...

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 Amy Joy Rodriguez Shilling (; born February 17, 1987) is an American soccer coach and retired professional player who most recently served as head coach of Utah Royals of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). During a career that spanned 1 ...

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 Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. 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 Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played as a left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'A ...

, was involved in the

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the 2015 World Championship: despite eight victories out of ten games, including two record victories against

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(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 Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

4–3 on aggregate, but were defeated by the

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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 Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. 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.

2017–2023: First World Cup qualification in 20 years

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 Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

, recording two victories against

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(2–1) and

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

(5–0), which guaranteed advancement to the knockout stage, with Italy's defeat to

(0–1) irrelevant to the final table. In the round of 16, Italy won 2–0 over

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, advancing to the quarter-finals for the second time in their history. However, with a 2–0 defeat to European Champions the

, 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 The COVID-19 pandemic in Italy was part of the COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Italy on 31 January 2 ...

and

were declared as winners. In the

2022 Algarve Cup The 2022 Algarve Cup was the 28th edition of the Algarve Cup, an invitational Women's association football, women's football tournament held annually in Portugal. It took place from 16 to 23 February 2022. Teams Five teams were participating. ...

, Italy managed to reach the final again but lost against

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 The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champio ...

, finishing bottom with only one point and one goal scored, though much blames were taken for the

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

having not gone professional until the end of the tournament. After that failure, Italy qualified for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

by winning two games against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

with the team now fully recognised professional, finishing top of the group in the qualifiers, ahead of

, 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

2024

2025

globalsportsarchive Italy

Managerial history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League matches against

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on 30 May and 3 June 2025, respectively. ''Caps and goals are correct as of 3 June 2025, after the match against

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players were called up to the squad within the last 12 months. ;Notes * = Withdrew due to injury * = Withdrew due to medical reasons * = Preliminary squad * = Retired from national team

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Women's Nations League

Honours

Major competitions

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years and one year after the men's UEFA European Championship first held in 1984, is the main competition in women's association football between nationa ...

** Runners-up (2):

** Third place (1):

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

All-time records

Head-to-head record

;Key The following table shows Italy's all-time official international record per opponent: Last updated: Italy vs

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, 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

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

Notes

References

External links

*
FIFA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italy Women's National Football Team European women's national association football teams