| Germany 2006: |
| ITALY |
 |
|
| KEY FACTS |
| World Ranking |
| 12th |
| ITALY NEWS |
| After a few stumbling blocks, Italy found themselves cruise into the world cup with a comfortable 5 point cushion ahead of Norway. An early loss to Slovenia and conceding 3 against Belarus, all in the space of four days, brought questions over defence, but Italy, one of the soundest defensive units in the world, continued to secure three points consistently. And if they didn't, at least a point. Luca Toni netted four of the 17 goals for Italy and will be an important presence for the Azzurri come the finals in nearby Germany. |
| Qualifying Group Position |
| 1st |
| Group E |
| Top Scorers |
| Luca Toni |
| 4 Goals |
| QUALIFYING |
| 0-1 |
| Slovenia |
| Lost To |
| 09-Oct-04 |
| 2-0 |
| Dft |
| 1-0 |
| Slovenia |
| Dft |
| 08-Oct-05 |
| 1-1 |
| Scotland |
| Drew |
| 03-Sep-05 |
| 4-1 |
| Belarus |
| Dft |
| 07-Sep-05 |
| 2-1 |
| Moldova |
| Dft |
| 12-Oct-05 |
| 1-0 |
| Moldova |
| Dft |
| 08-Sep-04 |
| 26-Mar-05 |
| 4-3 |
| Belarus |
| Dft |
| 13-Oct-04 |
| 2-1 |
| Norway |
| Dft |
| 04-Sep-04 |
| Scotland |
| 0-0 |
| Drew |
| 04-Jun-05 |
| Norway |
 |
 |
| ITALY'S WORLD CUP HISTORY |
| Appearances (Champions in bold) |
| 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 |
| SQUAD (club in brackets) |
| Goalkeepers |
| Marco Amelia (Livorno, Italy) |
| Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy) |
| Defenders |
| Andrea Barzagli (Palermo, Italy) |
| Fabio Grosso (Palermo, Italy) |
| Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan, Italy) |
| Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan, Italy) |
| Massimo Oddo (Lazio, Italy) |
| Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus, Italy) |
| Midfielders |
| Simone Barone (Palermo, Italy) |
| Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus, Italy) |
| Forwards |
| Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus, Italy) |
| Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan, Italy) |
| Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese, Italy) |
| Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan, Italy) |
| Angelo Peruzzi (Lazio, Italy) |
| Daniele De Rossi (Roma, Italy) |
| Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan, Italy) |
| Simone Perrotta (Roma, Italy) |
| Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan, Italy) |
| Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus, Italy) |
| Francesco Totti (Roma, Italy) |
| Luca Toni (Fiorentina, Italy) |
| Cristian Zaccardo (Palermo, Italy) |