How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying?
• A 1-1 home draw with Lithuania in their opening tie in Naples was a shock, but perhaps not as big a setback as the 3-1 defeat in France in their second qualifier, when Raymond Domenech's side avenged their defeat on penalties in the World Cup final.
• That would prove the only reverse the Azzurri suffered and Luca Toni's two goals in a 2-0 win at home against Scotland in March 2007 provided an important reminder of the world champions' credentials.
• Italy won nine of their last ten qualifiers but were denied revenge against France with a goalless draw in Milan.
• They eventually secured qualification both for themselves and France by beating Scotland 2-1 in Glasgow thanks to another goal from Toni and an added-time winner from defender Christian Panucci.
• A 3-1 win against the Faroe Islands in their final fixture earned them top spot in the section at France's expense.
How did they perform in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
• Eventual winners Italy won their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification round group with seven wins and two draws from their ten engagements. In that time, they scored 17 goals and conceded eight.
• Their only blip came away against Slovenia in their third match in the competition. Having narrowly won their first two games at home against Norway (2-1) and away against Moldova (1-0), Italy succumbed to Boštjan Cesar's 82nd-minute goal for Slovenia in their meeting at Celje on 9 October 2004.
• The Italians bounced back with home victories against Belarus (4-3) and Scotland (2-0) before protecting their lead in the standings with away draws in Oslo against Norway (0-0) and later in Glasgow against Scotland (1-1), although they required a Fabio Grosso goal 15 minutes from time to make their point at Hampden Park.
• Belarus were defeated 4-1 in Minsk with Luca Toni (6, 13, 55) scoring a hat-trick before the Italians rounded off their campaign with two home victories against Slovenia (1-0) and Moldova (2-1). Those two successes also provided Italy with five wins from five on home soil in the qualifying round.
• Italy claimed their fourth World Cup triumph after going undefeated in their seven games at the finals in Germany.
• After group games against Ghana (2-0), the United States (1-1) and the Czech Republic (2-0) they progressed to the last four with wins against Australia (1-0) and Ukraine (3-0).
• An extra-time victory over hosts Germany (2-0) was followed by a 5-3 penalty win in the final against France after the game in Berlin had finished 1-1.
How did they perform in UEFA EURO 2004™?
• Italy won their five-team qualification round group by four points from Wales having won five and drawn two of their eight matches in the competition. But their time at the UEFA EURO 2004™ finals lasted only three matches as they finished in third place in their group behind both Sweden and Denmark despite remaining unbeaten.
• The Italians only defeat in the entire competition came in their third match of the qualifying round when they lost 2-1 away against Wales on 16 October 2002. Simon Davies opened the scoring for the home side after eleven minutes, and though Alessandro Del Piero equalised for the visitors shortly after the half-hour mark, Wales prevailed thanks to Craig Bellamy's 70th-minute winner.
• Italy won two of their home matches by four-goal margins, firstly avenging their loss to Wales (4-0) before defeating Azerbaijan by the same scoreline. A second half hat-trick from Filippo Inzaghi (58, 62 and 69) unhinged the Welsh, and he added two more goals after 23 and 86 minutes to help defeat the Azeris.
• But Italy's UEFA EURO 2004™ finals involvement proved unsuccessful despite draws against Denmark (0-0), Sweden (1-1) and a 2-1 victory against Bulgaria in their last match, a game in which they fought back from a one-goal interval deficit to win thanks to strikes from Simone Perrotta (48) and Antonio Cassano (90+4). However, their goal difference was weaker in comparison to their two Nordic rivals who also finished the group stage with five points while Bulgaria propped up the standings, pointless from their three games in the competition.
What is their best performance in the UEFA European Championship?
• Italy won the 1968 UEFA European Championship, defeating Yugoslavia 2-0 in a final replay after the two sides had shared a 1-1 draw at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Italy forced a replay when Angelo Domenghini's 80th-minute goal cancelled out Dragan Dzajić's opener after 39 minutes. The tournament hosts made no mistake in the replay played two days later as first-half goals from Luigi Riva (12) and Pietro Anastasi (31) sealed a 2-0 win.
Key facts
• Italy have qualified for the last four UEFA European Championship final tournaments.
All-time record
• Up until the end of qualifying for UEFA EURO 2008™, Italy had appeared in the UEFA European Championship on twelve occasions, and had played 111 matches. In that time, they won 59, drew 35 and lost 17 of those fixtures with 175 goals scored and 77 conceded.
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