This is a record of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

's results at the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

. Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of the World Cup, having won four titles (

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

, 1938, 1982, 2006), just one fewer than

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, but last qualified for the event in 2014. The team was present in 18 out of the 22 tournaments, reaching six finals, a third place and a fourth place.

Overall record

Champions Runners-up Third Place Fourth Place :''*Draws include knockout matches decided via

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 ...

Finals

By Match

''Italy's score listed first''

Record by Opponent

World Cup Finals

1934 World Cup Final v
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

With temperatures around 40 °C (104 °F), Italy won their home tournament in 1934 after going into extra time against Czechoslovakia.

1938 World Cup Final v
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

After a difficult route to the final, defeating hosts

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in the quarter-finals and

in the semis, Italy was the first team to win the World Cup title on foreign ground. Also, it was the first of only two times in World Cup history that a team successfully defended their title.

1970 World Cup Final v
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

In 1970, the Brazilian team featured superstars like Pelé,

Rivelino Roberto Rivellino (also Rivelino, ; ; born 1 January 1946) is a Brazilian football pundit and retired footballer. He was one of the stars of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup winning team. Rivellino currently works as a pundit for Brazilian TV Cultur ...

Jairzinho Jair Ventura Filho (born 25 December 1944), better known as Jairzinho (), is a Brazilian former footballer. A quick, skillful, and powerful right winger known for his finishing ability and eye for goal, he was a key member and top scorer of th ...

and Carlos Alberto and were considered favourites for the title. Particularly in the second half, the Italians were outclassed by the Brazilians passing play.

1982 World Cup Final v
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Italy played three draws in the first group stage in a worrisome start to the tournament, proceeding ahead of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

only on number of goals scored. However, the Italians continued to defeat

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and a strong Polish side over the course of the tournament and faced West Germany in the final in Madrid.

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

missed a penalty in the goalless first half, but the dominant Italian side eventually built up a 3–0 lead and won by 3–1 in the end, securing their third World Cup trophy.

1994 World Cup Final v
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

The 1994 final was the first ever to be decided on penalties after goalless 120 minutes. Italian captain

Franco Baresi Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining t ...

missed the very first penalty, and Roberto Baggio the decisive last one. Italy became the first team to lose two World Cup finals against the same opponent.

2006 World Cup Final v
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Italian defender

Marco Materazzi Marco Materazzi (; born 19 August 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. Early in his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Everton in the Premier League. He spent two p ...

was involved in all three outstanding moments of the first 120 minutes: He conceded the penalty that was converted by

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the mos ...

early in the game, equalised with a powerful header soon after, and provoked Zidane in a manner that lead to the French captain being sent off. He also scored in the penalty-shootout that was to follow. It was only the second time a World Cup final was decided on penalties, again involving Italy after the 1994 final lost to Brazil.

Player records

Most appearances

Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...

is the player with the fourth-most matches at FIFA World Cups, trailing only behind the Argentinian

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

(26) and the Germans

Lothar Matthäus Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German football pundit and former professional player and manager. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the ...

(25) and

Miroslav Klose Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Austrian Bundesliga club Rheindorf Altach. A striker, Klose ...

(24). This also makes him the player with the most World Cup matches without winning the trophy. Goalkeeper

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...

is the only Italian player, and one of only three in the world, who have been part of five FIFA World Cup squads.

Top goalscorers

Two Italians were awarded the Golden Boot for best goalscorer at a FIFA World Cup:

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden ...

in 1982 and

Salvatore Schillaci Salvatore Schillaci (; born 1 December 1964), commonly referred to by his nickname Totò, is an Italian former professional footballer, who played as a striker. During his club career, he played for Messina (1982–1989), Juventus (1989–1992 ...

in 1990 with 6 goals each.

Awards and Records

Team Awards

* World Champions 1934 * World Champions 1938 * World Champions 1982 * World Champions 2006 * Second Place 1970 * Second Place 1994 * Third Place 1990

Individual Awards

Golden Ball award * Golden Ball 1934:

Giuseppe Meazza Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza (; 23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979), also known as il Balilla, was an Italian football manager and player. Throughout his career, he played mainly for Inter Milan in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the ...

* Golden Ball 1982:

* Golden Ball 1990:

* Silver Ball 1938:

Silvio Piola Silvio Piola (; 29 September 1913 – 4 October 1996) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set, and he is regarded as one of th ...

* Silver Ball 1978:

* Silver Ball 1994: Roberto Baggio * Silver Ball 2006: Fabio Cannavaro * Bronze Ball 2006:

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his visio ...

Golden Boot award Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

* Golden Boot 1982:

* Golden Boot 1990:

* Silver Boot 1934:

Angelo Schiavio Angelo Schiavio (; 15 October 1905 – 17 September 1990) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. Schiavio spent his entire career with Bologna, the club of the city where he was born and died; he won four league titles with the clu ...

* Silver Boot 1938:

* Silver Boot 1998:

Christian Vieri Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his p ...

Other individual awards * Golden Glove 1982:

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at th ...

''(oldest Golden Glove winner)'' * Golden Glove 2006:

* Best Young Player Award 1978:

* Man of the Match Award 2006:

Refereeing

Three World Cup finals have been officiated by representatives of the Italian football federation, only English referees have had the honour more often (four times). The 1978 final between Argentina and the Netherlands has been led by

Sergio Gonella Sergio Gonella (; 23 May 1933 – 19 June 2018) was an Italian bank manager and association football referee. He was the first ever Italian appointed to referee the final of the FIFA World Cup which occurred when he took charge of the 1978 fina ...

, who had already officiated the European Championship final two years earlier. The other referees are

Pierluigi Collina Pierluigi Collina (; born 13 February 1960) is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998-2003. Collina is still ...

in 2002, and

Nicola Rizzoli Nicola Rizzoli (; born 5 October 1971) is an Italian former football referee who refereed in the Italian Serie A from 2002 to 2017 and was a FIFA-listed referee from 2007 to 2017. He refereed the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final between Germany and Ar ...

in 2014. The Italian referee with the most World Cup matches, however, is

Roberto Rosetti Roberto Rosetti (born 18 September 1967) is an Italian former football referee. He is fluent in Italian (native), English and French. He started refereeing in 1983, and took charge of his first match in the Italian Serie A in 1996. He received hi ...

, who has been in charge of six matches total in 2006 and 2010.

References

External links

Italian Football Federation official website

FIFA Official Ranking of all Participants at Finals 1930–2002. FIFA Match Results for all Stages 1930–2002

{{Italy national football team Countries at the FIFA World Cup