🇮🇹 Italy, from champions to play-offs ❌: 5️⃣ iconic 19th-century games! | OneFootball

From 2000 to today, the Italian national team has given us intense emotions: immense joy, sporting heartbreak, and unforgettable moments, for better or worse.

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Some matches have gone down in history for their epic victories, others for defeats that hurt like few others.

A rollercoaster of emotions that can be summed up in 5 iconic matches of the new century.

😭 Euro 2000: the masterpiece that slipped away in 120"

Dino Zoff’s Italy played a perfect defensive match against France.

After Marco Delvecchio’s goal, the Azzurri held off the French attacks for the entire game. In the second half, Alessandro Del Piero even had two huge chances to kill it off... but wasted them.

Then the unthinkable happened: Wiltord scored in the 93rd minute, and in extra time David Trezeguet finished it with the golden goal.

🏆 2006 World Cup: WORLD CHAMPIONS!

The final in Berlin against France exploded into life immediately: Zinedine Zidane scored with a Panenka penalty. But shortly after, Marco Materazzi equalized with a header from a corner.

The match was incredibly balanced: Gianluigi Buffon made an unbelievable save on Zidane in extra time. Then came Zidane’s headbutt on Materazzi and the red card for the former Juventus Frenchman.

In the penalty shootout, Italy was perfect: Grosso’s decisive kick delivered the title.

💔 2017: Sweden and the playoff NIGHTMARE

After losing the first leg 1-0 in Sweden, Italy put everything on the line at San Siro. But Gian Piero Ventura’s team looked slow, predictable, and nervous.

Crosses rained into the box with no effect, while technically gifted players were inexplicably underused.

The result was a sterile 0-0: no World Cup. One of the darkest chapters in modern Italian football.

😍 Euro 2020: HISTORY at Wembley

The final started terribly: England scored after 2 minutes through Shaw. But Roberto Mancini’s Italy did not collapse. They kept the ball, grew into the match, and equalized with Bonucci from a corner.

Also iconic was Giorgio Chiellini’s foul on Saka, pulling the opponent back on the break.

In the penalty shootout, Donnarumma became a national hero: he saved and sealed it, and Italy were crowned European champions.

😱 2022: the playoff NIGHTMARE returns

Against North Macedonia, Italy dominated: over 30 shots, huge possession, but zero goals.

Then, in the 92nd minute, disaster: a long-range shot from Aleksandar Trajkovski and a goal.

A classic case of “if you waste your chances, you pay”: Italy controlled everything... except the result, and for the second World Cup in a row they were out before the final tournament.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 Ben Radford - 2006 Getty Images