 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Gli Azzurrini (The Little Blues) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Italian Football Federation (Federazion Italia Giuoco Calcio – FIGC) | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Top scorer | Nicola Ventola (4) | ||
| FIFA code | ITA | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 England 1–0Italy  (Nottingham,England; 20 December 1967) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Italy 4–0Albania  (Foggia,Italy; 19 June 1997) Italy 5–1Turkey  (Bari,Italy; 25 June 1997) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Sweden 4–1Italy (Växjö,Sweden; 10 October 1971) | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 5 (first in1992) | ||
| Best result |  Bronze medallist: (2004) | ||
| Mediterranean Games | |||
| Appearances | 6 (first in1997) | ||
| Best result |  Gold medalist: (1997) | ||
TheItaly national under-23 football team (Italian:Nazionale Under-23 di calcio dell'Italia) representedItaly in international under-23football competitions. Managed by theItalian Football Federation, it ceased to exist after the suppression of theUEFA European Under-23 Championship in 1977; its heir is theOlympic team, which has the same age criteria as the former under-23s.
The under-23's best result in UEFA competitions was reaching the quarter-finals of the1974 UEFA European Under-23 Championship. An impromptu U-23 team was formed in 1997, twenty years after their most recent appearance; they won thefootball tournament of the1997 Mediterranean Games. As of 2022, an Italy U-23 team has not played ever since.
The forerunner of the under-23 national team was the "youth" national team (Italian:nazionale "giovanile"), which debuted on 6 April 1942, inTurin, againstHungary. In this encounter, both teams were made up of players born no earlier than 1920, making themde facto under-23 teams.[1] AfterWorld War II, the national team – also known as the "cadetti" (cadets), "giovani" (youth) or "primavera" (spring) – played regular matches at least until 1960, based on selections of players under the age of 23.[2]
The under-23 team was officially established in 1967, by a resolution of theFIGC Federal Council: with this act, the FIGC established that, from the1967–68 season, the new selection would replace thenational B team.[3] The new team made their debut on 20 December 1967, in a 1–0 defeat againstEngland played atCity Ground inNottingham.[3] The FIGC hiredRomolo Alzani as team coach.[3] On 26 March 1969, the team won their first match, a 2–1 win againstNorthern Ireland.[4] Coached byFerruccio Valcareggi, between 1969 and 1970, they played at theLatin Cup, their first tournament in their history, in which they won their only game againstSpain in February 1970.[4]
Since 1992Olympic 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.
| 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 | ||
