Italy national under-21 football team

The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. This team is made up of young players who are under the age of 21 and they represent Italy in international competitions.

The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which happens every two years. Italy, along with Spain, has been very successful in this competition. They have won the championship five times and have been the runners-up twice.

From 1990 to 2004, the Italy under-21 team was incredibly strong, winning five out of seven tournaments during that time. One notable match was when they played at the new Wembley Stadium in 2007 against England Under-21s. The game ended in a 3–3 draw, with Giampaolo Pazzini scoring all three goals for Italy.

Before the 2008 Olympic games, the Italy under-21 team won the 2008 Toulon Tournament by beating Chile 1–0 in the final. This was the first time they had won this tournament.

Honours

The Italy national under-21 football team has won many important tournaments. They have won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship five times, in the years 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2004. They also were runners-up in 1986 and 2013.

Italy has achieved third place in the football tournament at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and won the Mediterranean Games in 1997. In the Maurice Revello Tournament, they won in 2008 and took third place in 2011 and 2024.

UEFA European Under-21 Championship

The UEFA European Under-21 Championship is a football tournament for players who are 21 years old or younger at the start of the competition. Because of this age rule, it is sometimes thought of as an under-23 competition. Italy has taken part in these tournaments since 1972.

Here are some of Italy's results in earlier tournaments:

• 1972: Did not qualify, finished second in their group.
• 1974: Lost in the quarter-finals.
• 1976: Did not qualify, finished second in their group.

UEFA U-21 Championship Record

*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 has been a competition for players under 23 years old, and the European U-21 teams act as U-23 teams. These teams qualify for the Olympic football tournament through the UEFA European U-21 Championship.

• Before 1992: See Italy national football team
• (/wiki/Football_at_the_1992_Summer_Olympics): Quarter-finals
• (/wiki/Football_at_the_1996_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_tournament): Group stage
• (/wiki/Football_at_the_2000_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_tournament): Quarter-finals
• (/wiki/Football_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_tournament): Bronze medal
• (/wiki/Football_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_tournament): Quarter-finals
• (/wiki/Football_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_tournament): Did not qualify
• (/wiki/Football_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_tournament): Did not qualify
• (/wiki/Football_at_the_2020_Summer_Olympics_–_Men's_tournament): Did not qualify
• (/wiki/Football_at_the_2024_Summer_Olympics_-_Men's_tournament): Did not qualify

Overage players in Olympic Games

Mediterranean Games Record

The Mediterranean Games had a football tournament for under-23 teams in 1993 and 1997. In 1993, the team came in fourth place, and in 1997, they were the winners. In 2001, the event was for under-20 teams, and in 2005, a different team took part.

Coaches

Here are the coaches of the Italy national under-21 football team from 1976 to today:

• 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

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

2026

Players

Players born in 2004 or later can join the Italy under-21 football team for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Some of these players have already played for the senior team.

The team recently played matches against North Macedonia and Sweden in March 2026. The list of players for these matches is shown below.

Some players who were called up in the past year and are still eligible to play for the under-21 team are listed here.

Records

Players shown in bold are still able to play for the Under-21 team. The lists include the number of times each player has appeared and the goals they have scored while playing with the team, including when they played with the Olympic team.

Here are the top 10 players who have appeared the most times for the Under-21 team:

And here are the top 10 players who have scored the most goals for the Under-21 team: