| Italy Under-21 | |
| Badge: | Logo Italy National Football Team - 2023.svg |
| Badge Size: | 114px |
| Nickname: | Gli Azzurrini (The Little Blues) |
| Association: | Italian Football Federation (Federazion Italia Giuoco Calcio – FIGC) |
| Coach: | Carmine Nunziata |
| Captain: | Lorenzo Pirola |
| Most Caps: | Andrea Pirlo (46) |
| Top Scorer: | Alberto Gilardino (19) |
| Pattern La1: | _ita23h |
| Pattern B1: | _ita23h |
| Pattern Ra1: | _ita23h |
| Pattern Sh1: | _ita23h |
| Pattern So1: | _3_stripes_white |
| Leftarm1: | 007FFF |
| Body1: | 007FFF |
| Rightarm1: | 007FFF |
| Shorts1: | 007FFF |
| Socks1: | 007FFF |
| Pattern La2: | _ita23a |
| Pattern B2: | _ita23a |
| Pattern Ra2: | _ita23a |
| Pattern Sh2: | _adidaswhite2002 |
| Pattern So2: | _Italia2023a |
| Leftarm2: | FEFEFA |
| Body2: | FEFEFA |
| Rightarm2: | FEFEFA |
| Shorts2: | 000054 |
| Socks2: | FEFEFA |
| First Game: | U-23:  Italy 3–1 Austria  (Varese, Italy; 1 November 1970) U-21: Portugal 1–0 Italy (Funchal, Italy; 23 December 1976) |
| Largest Win: | Italy 7–0 Estonia  (Catanzaro, Italy; 23 March 1995) Italy 8–1 Wales (Pavia, Italy; 5 September 2003) Italy 7–0 Liechtenstein  (Casarano, Italy; 6 September 2012)  San Marino 0–7 Italy (Serravale, San Marino; 16 November 2023) |
| Largest Loss: |  Norway 6–0 Italy (Stavanger, Norway; 5 June 1991) |
| Uefau21champ Apps: | 22 |
| Uefau21champ First: | 1978 |
| Uefau21champ Best: | Champions (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004) |
| Regional Name: | Olympic Games |
| Regional Cup Apps: | 5 |
| Regional Cup First: | 1992 |
| Regional Cup Best: | Bronze medallist (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.[1]
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.
| Year | Round | |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Quarter-finals | |
| 1980 | Quarter-finals | |
| 1982 | Quarter-finals | |
| 1984 | Semi-finals | |
| 1986 | Runners-up | |
| 1988 | Quarter-finals | |
| 1990 | Semi-finals | |
| 1992 | Champions | |
 1994 | Champions | |
 1996 | Champions | |
 1998 | Did not qualify | |
 2000 | Champions | |
| 2002 | Semi-finals | |
| 2004 | Champions | |
| 2006 | Group stage | |
| 2007 | Group stage | |
 2009 | Semi-finals | |
| 2011 | Did not qualify | |
 2013 | Runners-up | |
 2015 | Group stage | |
 2017 | Semi-finals | |
| 2019 | Group stage | |
 2021 | Quarter-finals | |
 2023 | Group stage | |
| 2025 | TBD | |
| Total | 22/24 | |
See 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.
Quarter-finals
Group stage
Quarter-finals
Bronze medal
Quarter-finals
Did not qualify
Did not qualify
Did not qualify
Did not qualify
| Tournament | 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 Football tournament was U-23 event in 1993 and 1997.
Current technical staff:[2]
| Position | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Carmine Nunziata | |
| Assistant coaches | Emanuele Filippini Matteo Brighi | |
| Goalkeeping coach | Fabrizio Ferron | |
| Athletic trainer | Vito Azzone | |
| Match analyst | Marco Mannucci | |
| Doctors | Daniele Mazza Vincenzo Santoriello | |
| Physiotherapists | Nicola Sanna Emiliano Bozzetti | |
| Osteopath | Cristiano Pompili | |
| Head of Delegation | Mauro Balata | |
| Secretary | Manfredi Martino |
Only official matches are listed.[3]
Players born in 2002 or later are eligible for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Players in bold have been already capped with the senior team.
The following players were called up for the 2024 Toulon Tournament.[4]
Caps and goals as of 13 June 2024, after the match against France U20.
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 injuryPlayers in bold are still eligible to represent the Under-21 team. Caps and goals with the Olympic team are included.
The following is the top 10 most capped under-21 players:[5]
| width=20px | Rank | Player | Period | width=50px | Caps | width=50px | 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 |
The following is the top 10 under-21 goalscorers:[6]
| width=20px | Rank | Player | Period | width=50px | Goals | width=50px | Caps | width=50px | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberto Gilardino | 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 |