Italy and England will reignite one of football's great international rivalries when they face off in qualifying for Euro 2024.
These European heavyweights have faced off dozens of times over the past century and battled it out for the Euro 2020 title at Wembley just a few years ago.
Two nations that are never short on quality players, fixtures between their sides rarely fail to produce some magical moments and late drama.
Italy and England will play each other a further two times in 2023 as they add more chapters to their already long history of fixtures.
LIVE: Italy vs England score updates and highlights
Italy vs England head-to-head history
Prior to 2023, Italy and England have played each other 30 times before.
While Italy didn't win any of their first seven matches, the Azzurri have since edged the fixture, winning 13 games compared to England's eight.
These matches are generally low-scoring affairs with only three games ever involving five goals.
| Date | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1933 | Italy 1-1 England | Friendly |
| Nov. 14, 1934 | England 3-2 Italy | Friendly |
| May 13, 1939 | Italy 2-2 England | Friendly |
| May 16, 1948 | Italy 0-4 England | Friendly |
| Nov. 30, 1949 | England 2-0 Italy | Friendly |
| May 18, 1952 | Italy 1-1 England | Friendly |
| May 6, 1959 | England 2-2 Italy | Friendly |
| May 24, 1961 | Italy 2-3 England | Friendly |
| June 14, 1973 | Italy 2-0 England | Friendly |
| Nov. 14, 1973 | England 0-1 Italy | Friendly |
| May 28, 1976 | England 3-2 Italy | Bi-centenary |
| Nov. 17, 1976 | Italy 2-0 England | World Cup qualifying |
| Nov. 16, 1977 | England 2-0 Italy | World Cup qualifying |
| June 15, 1980 | Italy 1-0 England | European Championship |
| June 6, 1985 | Italy 2-1 England | City Tournament |
| Nov. 15, 1989 | England 0-0 Italy | Friendly |
| July 7, 1990 | Italy 2-1 England | World Cup qualifying |
| Feb. 12, 1997 | England 0-1 Italy | World Cup qualifying |
| June 4, 1997 | Italy 0-2 England | Tournoi de France |
| Oct. 11, 1997 | Italy 0-0 England | World Cup qualifying |
| Nov. 15, 2000 | Italy 1-0 England | Friendly |
| Mar. 27, 2002 | England 1-2 Italy | Friendly |
| June 24, 2012 | England 0-0 Italy (Pens 2-4) | European Championship |
| Aug. 15, 2012 | England 2-1 Italy | Friendly |
| June 14, 2014 | England 1-2 Italy | World Cup |
| Mar. 31, 2015 | Italy 1-1 England | Friendly |
| Mar. 27, 2018 | England 1-1 Italy | Friendly |
| July 11, 2021 | England 1-1 Italy (Pens 2-3) | European Championship |
| June 11, 2022 | England 0-0 Italy | UEFA Nations League |
| Sep. 23, 2022 | Italy 1-0 England | UEFA Nations League |
🇮🇹🆚🏴 Italy vs England EURO 1980 edition...
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 11, 2021
Who was your hero growing up? 🤩#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/5BwNDF3NcX
Italy vs England Euro 2020 final
This fixture added its most definitive match to date when these two teams faced off in the Euro 2020 final.
Chasing their first major trophy since 1966, the Three Lions started strongly at Wembley and opened the scoring inside two minutes through Luke Shaw.
Italy would eventually equalise through veteran Leonardo Bonucci as the game finished 1-1 after extra time.
England took the early lead in the penalty shootout when Andrea Belotti had his spotkick saved but the Three Lions went on to miss their next three penalties to lose 3-2.
🇮🇹 Birthday boy Donnarumma the hero as Italy win EURO 2020 🏆@gigiodonna1 || #HBD pic.twitter.com/vwOrNOZRcQ
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) February 25, 2023
Did England lose to Italy in the World Cup?
Italy have consistently had the edge over England in big games and that includes at the World Cup.
These two nations faced off for the first and only time at the tournament in 2014 during the group stages.
Italy walked away 2-1 winners thanks to a Mario Balotelli winner but neither nation were able to qualify for the knockout stages as Costa Rica and Uruguay progressed at their expense.