Wales v Italy
Italy have been FIFA World Cup winners on four occasions, in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006, and have qualified for the FIFA World Cup tournaments 18 times including the 1934 and 1990 tournaments as hosts.
They have also won the UEFA European Championships twice, in 1968 and 2021 having qualified on 10 occasions.
The Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) was formed in 1898 as the Federazione Italiana del Football (FIF). They have been members of FIFA since 1905 and were founder members of UEFA in 1954.
Italy's first official international game was a 2-6 defeat at home to France in a friendly match in May 1910 and the country made its competitive debut during the 1912 Summer Olympic Games with a 2-3 defeat to Finland in Idrottsplats, Sweden.
Wales' first match against Italy was a friendly international in the Stadio Comunale, Florence in 1965 with a first competitive meeting coming three years later in UEFA Qualifying Group 3 for the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
Wales' first win over Italy came in a friendly international in Stadio Mario Rigamonti, Brescia when Ian Rush, who had recently signed for Italian club side Juventus, scored the only goal of the game. Rush also won his 73rd and final cap in the friendly against Italy in Terni in 1996.
Head to Head
| P | W | D | L | F | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Away | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 20 |
| ALL | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 24 |
Match details
| no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 263 | 01/05/1965 | Italy 4-1 Wales | Godfrey | Stadio Comunale, Florence | Fr |
| 280 | 23/10/1968 | Wales 0-1 Italy | Ninian Park, Cardiff | WCQ | |
| 288 | 04/11/1969 | Italy 4-1 Wales | England | Stadio Olimpico, Rome | WCQ |
| 413 | 04/06/1988 | Italy 0-1 Wales | Rush | Stadio Mario Rigamonti, Brescia | Fr |
| 465 | 24/01/1996 | Italy 3-0 Wales | Stadio Libero Liberati, Terni | Fr | |
| 481 | 05/09/1998 | Wales 0-2 Italy | Anfield, Liverpool | ECQ | |
| 485 | 05/06/1999 | Italy 4-0 Wales | Stadio Dall'Ara, Bologna | ECQ | |
| 508 | 16/10/2002 | Wales 2-1 Italy | Davies, Bellamy | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | ECQ |
| 514 | 06/09/2003 | Italy 4-0 Wales | Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan | ECQ | |
| 677 | 20/06/2021 | Italy 1-0 Wales | Stadio Olimpico, Rome | EC |
FIFA World Cup winners (4): 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006
UEFA European Championship winners (2): 1968, 2021
Welsh players to have made their debut against Italy
Four Welsh players have made their debut for Wales against Italy.
- Colin Green - 01 May 1965
- Terry Yorath - 04 November 1969
- Marcus Browning - 24 January 1996
- Andy Johnson - 05 September 1998
