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Italy national under-21 football team

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Field	Value
Name	Italy Under-21
Badge	Logo Italy National Football Team - 2023.svg
Badge_size	114px
Nickname	Gli Azzurrini
(The Little Blues)
Association	Italian Football Federation
(Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio – FIGC)
Coach	Silvio Baldini
Captain	Luca Lipani
Most caps	Andrea Pirlo (46)
Top scorer	Alberto Gilardino (19)
pattern_la1	_ita24h
pattern_b1	_ita24h
pattern_ra1	_ita24h
pattern_sh1	_ita24h
socks1	0000FF
pattern_la2	_ita24a
pattern_b2	_ita24a
pattern_ra2	_ita24a
pattern_sh2	_ita24a
socks2	FFFFFF
First game	U-23: ITA Italy 3–1 Austria AUT
(Varese, Italy; 1 November 1970)
U-21: POR Portugal 1–0 Italy ITA
(Funchal, Italy; 23 December 1976)
Largest win	ITA Italy 7–0 Estonia EST
(Catanzaro, Italy; 23 March 1995)
ITA Italy 8–1 Wales WAL
(Pavia, Italy; 5 September 2003)
ITA Italy 7–0 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein
(Casarano, Italy; 6 September 2012)
SMR San Marino 0–7 Italy ITA
(Serravale, San Marino; 16 November 2023)
ITA Italy 7–0 San Marino SMR
(Latina, Italy; 5 September 2024)
Largest loss	NOR Norway 6–0 Italy ITA
(Stavanger, Norway; 5 June 1991)

UEFAu21Champ apps	23
UEFAu21Champ first	1978
Regional name	Olympic Games
Regional cup apps	5
Regional cup first	1992
Regional cup best	[[File: Bronze medal.svg	16px]] Bronze medallist (2004)

(The Little Blues) (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio – FIGC) (Varese, Italy; 1 November 1970) U-21: POR Portugal 1–0 Italy ITA (Funchal, Italy; 23 December 1976) (Catanzaro, Italy; 23 March 1995) ITA Italy 8–1 Wales WAL (Pavia, Italy; 5 September 2003) ITA Italy 7–0 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (Casarano, Italy; 6 September 2012) SMR San Marino 0–7 Italy ITA (Serravale, San Marino; 16 November 2023) ITA Italy 7–0 San Marino SMR (Latina, Italy; 5 September 2024) (Stavanger, Norway; 5 June 1991)

Champions (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004)

The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.

The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, held every two years. Italy (along with Spain) is the most successful nation in the history of the competition, with five Championships won (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2004). Italy has also been twice runner-up of the competition, in 1986 and 2013.

From 1990 to 2004 the team established near-total dominance of European Under-21 football, winning five of the seven tournaments.

Italy's Under-21s played the first match at the new Wembley Stadium, on 24 March 2007, against England Under-21s. The game resulted in a 3–3 draw, with Giampaolo Pazzini scoring all 3 goals for the Azzurrini.

Prior to the 2008 Olympic games, Italy U-21s went on to win the 2008 Toulon Tournament by beating Chile (1–0) in the final. It was the first time they had won this tournament, previously their best had been runner-up on two occasions.

Honours

UEFA European Under-21 Championship :* Winner: 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004 :* Runner-up: 1986, 2013
Summer Olympics :* Third place: 2004
Mediterranean Games :* Winner: 1997
Maurice Revello Tournament :* Winner: 2008 :* Third place: 2011, 2024

UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Since the under-21 competition rules insist that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, technically it is an U-23 competition. For this reason, Italy's record in the preceding U-23 competitions is also shown.

1972: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.
1974: Losing quarter-finalists.
1976: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.

[[UEFA European Under-21 Championship|UEFA U-21 Championship Record]]

Year	Round	Total
Europe 1978	Quarter-finals
Europe 1980
Europe 1982
Europe 1984	Semi-finals
Europe 1986	Runners-up
Europe 1988	Quarter-finals
Europe 1990	Semi-finals
Europe 1992	Champions
FRA 1994
ESP 1996
ROU 1998	Did not qualify
SVK 2000		Champions
SUI 2002	Semi-finals
GER 2004	Champions
POR 2006	Group stage
NED 2007
SWE 2009	Semi-finals
DEN 2011	Did not qualify
ISR 2013	Runners-up
CZE 2015	Group stage
POL 2017	Semi-finals
ITA 2019	Group stage
HUN SLO 2021	Quarter-finals
ROM GEO 2023	Group stage
SVK 2025	Quarter-finals
ALB SRB 2027	TBD

:*Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Olympics football Record

Main article: Italy national under-23 football team

Since 1992 Olympic football changed to a U-23 event, and the European U-21 teams are technically U-23 teams. European national teams qualify for the Olympic football tournament through the UEFA European U-21 Championship.

Before 1992: See Italy national football team
1992: Quarter-finals
1996: Group stage
2000: Quarter-finals
2004: Bronze medal
2008: Quarter-finals
2012: Did not qualify
2016: Did not qualify
2020: Did not qualify
2024: Did not qualify

Overage players in Olympic Games

Player 1	Player 2	Player 3
Gianluca Pagliuca (GK)	Massimo Crippa (MF)	Marco Branca (FW)
Did not select
Matteo Ferrari (DF)	Andrea Pirlo (MF)	Did not select
Tommaso Rocchi (FW)	Did not select

Mediterranean Games Record

Mediterranean Games Football tournament was U-23 event in 1993 and 1997.

1993: 4th place
1997: Winners
2001: a U20 event
2005: filled with B team

Coaches

1976–1986: Azeglio Vicini
1986–1996: Cesare Maldini
1996–1997: Rossano Giampaglia
1997–2000: Marco Tardelli
2000–2006: Claudio Gentile
2006–2010: Pierluigi Casiraghi
2010–2012: Ciro Ferrara
2012–2013: Devis Mangia
2013–2019: Luigi Di Biagio
2019–2023: Paolo Nicolato
2023–2025: Carmine Nunziata
2025–present: Silvio Baldini

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	ITA Silvio Baldini
Assistant coaches	ITA Mauro Nardini
ITA Mattia Baldini
Technical assistant	ITA Andrea Barzagli
Goalkeeping coach	ITA Stefano Pardini
Fitness coach	ITA Vito Azzone
Match analysts	ITA Diego Labricciosa
ITA Gianluca Mazziotti
Head of delegation	ITA Giancarlo Antognoni
Doctors	ITA Daniele Mazza
ITA Vincenzo Santoriello
Physiotherapists	ITA Nicola Sanna
ITA Tommaso Cannata

Source:

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of matches played in the past 12 months and future matches that have been scheduled. Only official matches are listed.

2025

S. Esposito
Fitz-Jim
Bruns
Prati
Sørensen
Baldanzi
Casadei
Rodríguez
Pisilli
Woltemade
Weiper
Röhl
Koleosho
Ambrosino
Lipani
Koleosho
Kostic
Marianucci
Pisilli
Camarda
Berti
Dagasso
Camarda
Fini
Ekhator
Vardanyan
Bogacz
Kuziemka
Pisilli
Mrvaljević
Pisilli
Dagasso
Camarda
Fini

2026

Players

Players born in 2004 or later are eligible for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Players in bold have been already capped with the senior team.

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Poland and Montenegro on 14 and 18 November 2025, respectively.

Caps and goals as of 18 November 2025, after the match against Montenegro.

Recent call-ups

Following are listed players called up in the previous twelve months who are still eligible to represent the under-21 team. INJ Withdrew due to injury

PRE Preliminary squad

SUS Suspended for the following match

Records

Players in bold are still eligible to represent the Under-21 team. Caps and goals with the Olympic team are included.

Most appearances

The following is the top 10 most capped under-21 players:

Rank	Player	Period	Caps	Goals
1	Andrea Pirlo	1998–2002	46	16
2	Marco Motta	2005–2009	42	1
3	Francesco Bardi	2011–2015	37	0
4	Matteo Brighi	2000–2004	35	2
5	Daniele Bonera	2001–2004	34	0
6	Matteo Ferrari	1999–2002	33	3
7	Luca Marrone	2009–2013	32	1
Alessandro Rosina	2004–2007	32	4
9	Luca Caldirola	2010–2013	31	1
Marco Donadel	2004–2006	31	1

Top goalscorers

The following is the top 10 under-21 goalscorers:

Rank	Player	Period	Goals	Caps	Ratio
1	Alberto Gilardino	2000–2004	19	30	0.63
2	Andrea Pirlo	1998–2002	16	46	0.34
3	Manolo Gabbiadini	2010–2013	12	24	0.5
4	Massimo Maccarone	2000–2002	11	15	0.73
Gianluca Vialli	1983–1986	11	20	0.55
Patrick Cutrone	2017–2021	11	25	0.44
7	Cristiano Lucarelli	1996–1997	10	10	1
Robert Acquafresca	2007–2009	10	16	0.62
Christian Vieri	1992–1996	10	19	0.52
10	Gianluca Scamacca	2018–2021	9	15	0.6
Ciro Immobile	2009–2013	9	16	0.56
Andrea Belotti	2013–2015	9	18	0.5
Roberto Mancini	1982–1986	9	26	0.34
Alberto Paloschi	2008–2013	9	29	0.31

Notes

References

"Categories - All 4".
(5 September 2025). "Nazionale Under 21 - Squadra e staff". FIGC.
(7 February 2020). "FIGC".
{{UEFA match attendance. 2043351. Germany vs. Italy. (22 June 2025)
(10 November 2025). "Iniziata la lunga vigilia di Polonia-Italia. Baldini: “Conosciamo le difficoltà, ma sono fiducioso”". figc.it.
(24 September 2020). "Classifica Presenze".
(5 August 2020). "Classifica Marcatori".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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