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.
Contents
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
Competitive record
Mediterranean Games Record
*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
Gold background color indicates first-place finish. Silver background color indicates second-place finish. Bronze background color indicates third-place finish.
Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
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
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.
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 Armenia and Poland on 1 and 5 October 2026 respectively.
Caps and goals as of 8 June 2026, after the match against Albania.
Recent call-ups
Following are listed players called up in the previous twelve months who are still eligible to represent the under-21 team.
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:
Top goalscorers
The following is the top 10 under-21 goalscorers: