Italy women's national football team

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.

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

The following 23 players were called up for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[25]
Caps, goals and player numbers are correct as of 29 June 2019 after the match against the Netherlands.

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	Chiara Marchitelli	(1985-05-04) 4 May 1985	40	0	Florentia
22	1GK	Rosalia Pipitone	(1985-08-03) 3 August 1985	3	0	Roma
3	2DF	Sara Gama (captain)	(1989-03-27) 27 March 1989	101	5	Juventus
5	2DF	Elena Linari	(1994-04-15) 15 April 1994	34	0	Atlético Madrid
7	2DF	Alia Guagni	(1987-10-01) 1 October 1987	67	5	Fiorentina
13	2DF	Elisa Bartoli	(1991-05-07) 7 May 1991	51	1	Roma
16	2DF	Laura Fusetti	(1990-10-08) 8 October 1990	3	0	Milan
17	2DF	Lisa Boattin	(1997-05-03) 3 May 1997	14	0	Juventus
20	2DF	Linda Tucceri	(1991-04-04) 4 April 1991	8	1	Milan
2	3MF	Valentina Bergamaschi	(1997-01-22) 22 January 1997	20	3	Milan
4	3MF	Aurora Galli	(1996-12-13) 13 December 1996	28	4	Juventus
6	3MF	Martina Rosucci	(1992-05-09) 9 May 1992	37	1	Juventus
8	3MF	Alice Parisi	(1990-12-11) 11 December 1990	46	5	Fiorentina
11	3MF	Barbara Bonansea	(1991-06-13) 13 June 1991	54	19	Juventus
15	3MF	Annamaria Serturini	(1998-05-13) 13 May 1998	1	0	Roma
21	3MF	Valentina Cernoia	(1991-06-22) 22 June 1991	36	6	Juventus
23	3MF	Manuela Giugliano	(1997-08-18) 18 August 1997	26	3	Milan
9	4FW	Daniela Sabatino	(1985-06-26) 26 June 1985	49	21	Milan
10	4FW	Cristiana Girelli	(1990-04-23) 23 April 1990	56	31	Juventus
14	4FW	Stefania Tarenzi	(1988-02-29) 29 February 1988	3	1	ChievoVerona Valpo
18	4FW	Ilaria Mauro	(1988-05-22) 22 May 1988	28	8	Fiorentina
19	4FW	Valentina Giacinti	(1994-01-02) 2 January 1994	25	4	Milan

Key

The following table shows Italy's all-time official international record per opponent:

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W%	Confederation
Argentina	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00	CONMEBOL
Armenia	2	2	0	0	15	0	+15	100.00	UEFA
Australia	9	4	2	3	16	14	+2	44.44	AFC
Austria	4	3	1	0	17	1	+16	75.00	UEFA
Belgium	9	6	1	2	20	10	+10	66.67	UEFA
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5	100.00	UEFA
Brazil	7	0	1	6	7	19	-12	0.00	CONMEBOL
Bulgaria	1	1	0	0	3	1	+2	100.00	UEFA
Canada	10	3	1	6	13	14	-1	33.33	CONCACAF
Chile	3	3	0	0	11	3	+8	100.00	CONMEBOL
China PR	8	3	2	3	8	8	0	37.50	AFC
Chinese Taipei	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100.00	AFC
Costa Rica	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00	CONCACAF
Croatia	2	1	1	0	7	0	+7	50.00	UEFA
Czech Republic	10	10	0	0	32	7	+25	100.00	UEFA
Czechoslovakia	11	6	4	1	19	10	+9	54.54	UEFA
Denmark	24	5	7	12	24	44	-20	20.83	UEFA
England	33	17	7	9	62	41	+19	51.52	UEFA
Estonia	2	2	0	0	9	1	+8	100.00	UEFA
Finland	12	5	6	1	17	12	+5	41.67	UEFA
France	26	14	6	6	40	30	+10	53.85	UEFA
Georgia	2	2	0	0	13	1	+12	100.00	UEFA
Germany	28	5	8	15	22	49	-27	17.86	UEFA
Greece	8	7	1	0	29	2	+27	87.50	UEFA
Hungary	12	10	1	1	25	6	+19	83.33	UEFA
Iceland	5	2	3	0	5	3	+2	40.00	UEFA
Iran	2	2	0	0	7	0	+7	100.00	AFC
Jamaica	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100.00	CONCACAF
Japan	8	7	0	1	34	6	+28	87.50	AFC
Macedonia	4	4	0	0	44	0	+44	100.00	UEFA
Mexico	8	4	2	2	23	11	+12	50.00	CONCACAF
Moldova	2	2	0	0	8	1	+7	100.00	UEFA
Netherlands	17	8	5	4	30	17	+13	47.06	UEFA
New Zealand	2	0	0	2	0	3	-3	0.00	OFC
Nigeria	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00	CAF
North Korea	2	0	1	1	3	6	-3	0.00	AFC
Northern Ireland	3	3	0	0	10	1	+9	100.00	UEFA
Norway	16	2	1	13	20	41	-21	12.50	UEFA
Poland	7	6	1	0	22	4	+18	85.71	UEFA
Portugal	15	12	0	3	33	8	+25	80.00	UEFA
Republic of Ireland	7	6	1	0	16	5	+11	85.71	UEFA
Romania	6	6	0	0	18	2	+16	100.00	UEFA
Russia	9	4	0	5	13	10	+3	44.44	UEFA
Scotland	19	14	2	3	51	16	+35	73.68	UEFA
Serbia	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	100.00	UEFA
Serbia and Montenegro	3	3	0	0	15	1	+14	100.00	UEFA
Slovakia	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00	UEFA
Slovenia	2	2	0	0	14	0	+14	100.00	UEFA
South Korea	3	3	0	0	5	2	+3	100.00	AFC
Spain	16	11	3	2	44	13	+31	68.75	UEFA
Soviet Union	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00	UEFA
Sweden	22	3	4	15	14	41	-27	13.64	UEFA
Switzerland	27	21	2	4	61	22	+39	77.78	UEFA
Thailand	3	3	0	0	11	2	+9	100.00	AFC
Ukraine	8	4	3	1	12	6	+6	50.00	UEFA
United States	16	4	2	10	9	29	-20	25.00	CONCACAF
Wales	3	3	0	0	12	0	+12	100.00	UEFA
Yugoslavia	11	10	0	1	38	4	+34	90.91	UEFA
Total	479	268	79	132	1012	528	+482	55.95	—

Last updated: Italy vs Netherlands, 29 June 2019. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.[26]

Below is a chart of Italy's FIFA ranking from 2003 to the present.[27]

As of 7 March 2020.[26] Highlighted names denote a player still playing or available for selection.