FORZA
AZZURRI
STATISTICS
www.forza-azzurri.info
A web site by PIERRE BONELLO
All the information about the Azzurri team and its participation in the 2018 World Cup
History:
WORLD CUP 2018
Go to History: Azzurri World Cup Stars
FIFA once again organized the football World Cup, a competition which joins all the national teams in the world in trying to qualify for the final stages of the tournament, which then crown one nation as the World Champion. This was the 21st edition of the competition and the 12th edition that the final prize was the FIFA cup.

It was the first time that Russia hosted the World Cup, and the eleventh edition hosted in the European continent.

France won the World Cup for the second time (1998, 2018), thus becoming the sixth nation to win the World Cup at least two times, the third European nation to do so. They become World Champions 20 years after winning their first World Cup in 1998. It was the first time France won the World Cup away from home. 

The former World Champions, Germany, finished in the 22nd position. Italy failed to qualify for the final stages of the World Cup for the second time in their history (1958, 2018) and the third time the Italian National Team missed the World Cup finals, since in the first edition (1930), like many other European countries, they boycotted the tournament held in Uruguay. The hosts, Russia, finished in the 5th position of the tournament ranking, Portugal, the European Champions finished in the 14th position and Australia, the Asian Champions in the 30th position. The South American Champions - Chile, the African Champions - Cameroon, and the North & Central American Champions - U.S.A., all failed to qualify for the final tournament.
Go to History: FIFA Confederation Cup 2013
Go to History: FIFA Confederation Cup 2009
Go to History: World Cup 2010
The Final Positions of the Azzurri in the World Cup
EDITION
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
YEAR
1930
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
HOST
Uruguay
Italy
France
Brazil
Switzerland
Sweden
Chile
England
Mexico
West Germany
Argentina
Spain
Mexico
Italy
U.S.A.
France
Japan/S.Korea
Germany
South Africa
Brazil
Russia
WINNER
Uruguay
Italy
Italy
Uruguay
West Germany
Brazil
Brazil
England
Brazil
West Germany
Argentina
Italy
Argentina
West Germany
Brazil
France
Brazil
Italy
Spain
Germany
France
ITALY (Final Position)
No Participation
World Champions
World Champions
First Round
First Round
Qualification Round
First Round
First Round
Final
First Round
3/4 Place Final
World Champions
Second Round
3/4 Place Final
Final
Quarter Finals
Second Round
World Champions
First Round
First Round
Qualification Round
RANK
--
1st
1st
7th
9th
--
9th
9th
2nd
10th
4th
1st
12th
3rd
2nd
5th
11th
1st
26th
22nd
--
FIFA WORLD CUP
The 21st Edition 
RUSSIA
14 June - 15 July 2018 
Go Back to History Index
Go to other
HISTORY pages:
The Official Logo of the 2018 World Cup
Qualification, European Group G - Results and Standings
8-0
2-1
1-3
1-1
1-2
0-2
2-1
2-3
0-2
4-0
0-3
0-4
4-1
2-0
0-3
11-06-2017
11-06-2017
11-06-2017
02-09-2017
02-09-2017
02-09-2017
05-09-2017
05-09-2017
05-09-2017
06-10-2017
06-10-2017
06-10-2017
09-10-2017
09-10-2017
09-10-2017
POINTS  GAMES  WINS  DRAWS  LOST  GOALS+  GOALS-
SPAIN
ITALY
ALBANIA
ISRAEL
MACEDONIA
LIECHTENSTEIN

10
10
10
10
10
10

28
23
13
12
11
0
9
7
4
4
3
0
1
2
1
0
2
0
0
1
5
6
5
10
36
21
10
10
15
1

3
8
13
15
15
39
5-0
0-3
1-2
2-0
0-1
3-0
1-0
0-8
1-1
3-0
1-1
0-1
0-1
0-1
4-0
Official Logo
The Official Logo of the 2018 World Cup
Official Poster
The official Mascot of the 2018 World Cup - Zabivaka the Wolf
The mascot of this edition is the Wolf ZABIVAKA. In the Russian language the name means 'the one who scores', a very suitable name for a mascot who radiates fun, charm and confidence. The wolf received 53% of an online and TV poll in which one million Russians participated. The other animals participating were a 'Tiger', wearing a cosmonaut suite (27%) and a 'Cat', who like Zabivaka wears the colours of Russia (20%). 
WORLD CUP 2018 HOSTING BIDS

The new FIFA 2007 hosting policy was used for the first time in this bidding process. The policy says that any country may bid for a World Cup, provided that their continental confederation has not hosted either of the past two World Cups. Thus countries from South America and Africa were eliminated for this bid. Originally there was four bids, all from Europe and two of which were joined bids. The selection was to be made between Belgium & the Netherlands, England, Russia and Portugal & Spain and voting was done on the 2 December 2010 by twenty-two of the twenty-four FIFA Executive Members. The formula used was that any bid that receives more than twelve votes will be declared the winner, however if no bid receives the required twelve votes, then the least voted country in the round will be eliminated and the voting goes for another round until a winner is declared. In the first round no one received the twelve votes and England was eliminated when it finished last with just two votes. In the second round of voting, Russia received thirteen votes and was declared the winner. After the selection, controversy erupted regarding allegations of possible vote buying. In November 2014, German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the FIFA Ethics Committee's adjudication chamber published a 42-page summary of the findings of the report of U.S. lawyer Michael J. Garcia, chairman of the investigative chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee. It cleared Russia of any wrongdoing during the bidding stage, but was harsh on England, who had an unsuccessful World Cup bid, finding "potentially problematic facts and circumstances" in their bid and stating that they had undermined the integrity of the bidding.
RUSSIA
SPAIN   PORTUGAL
BELGIUM   NETHERLANDS
ENGLAND
SWEDEN vs ITALY
1 - 0
QUALIFICATION PLAY-OFF, LEG 1
10 November 2017          Solna, Sweden
13 November 2017          Milano, Italy
ITALY vs SWEDEN
0 - 0
QUALIFICATION PLAY-OFF, LEG 2
The Azzurri used in the qualification games
GAMES

12 BUFFON Gianluigi (Juventus)
12 IMMOBILE Ciro (Lazio)

10 BARZAGLI Andrea (Juventus)
10 BONUCCI Leonardo (Juventus / Milan)
10 CANDREVA Antonio (Inter)

9 BELOTTI Andrea (Torino)

8 EDER Citadin Martins (Inter)
8 INSIGNE Lorenzo (Napoli)

7 DARMIAN Matteo (Manchester United)
7 DE ROSSI Daniele (Roma)
7 PAROLO Marco (Lazio)
7 VERRATTI Marco (Paris Saint Germain)

6 BERNARDESCHI Federico (Fiorentina / Juventus)
6 CHIELLINI Giorgio (Juventus)

5 ZAPPACOSTA Davide (Torino / Chelsea)

4 BONAVENTURA Giacomo (Milan)
4 DE SCIGLIO Mattia (Milan)
4 GABBIADINI Manolo (Southampton)

3 FLORENZI Alessandro (Roma)
3 ROMAGNOLI Alessio (Milan)
3 SPINAZZOLA Leonardo (Atalanta)

2 EL SHAARAWY Stephan (Roma)
2 GAGLIARDINI Roberto (Inter)
2 MONTOLIVO Riccardo (Milan)
2 PELLE Graziano (Shandang Luneng T.)

1 ANTONELLI Luca (Milan)
1 ASTORI Davide (Fiorentina)
1 CONTI Andrea (Milan)
1 CRISTANTE Bryan (Atalanta)
1 JORGINHO Jorge Luiz (Napoli)
1 OGBONNA Angelo Obinze (West Ham United)
1 PELLEGRINI Lorenzo (Sassuolo)
1 RUGANI Daniele (Juventus)
1 SANSONE Nicola (Villarreal)
1 VERDI Simone (Bologna)
1 ZAZA Simone (West Ham United)


GOALS

6 IMMOBILE Ciro (Lazio)

4 BELOTTI Andrea (Torino)

3 CANDREVA Antonio (Inter)

2 DE ROSSI Daniele (Roma)

1 BERNARDESCHI Federico (Fiorentina)
1 CHIELLINI Giorgio (Juventus)
1 EDER Citadin Martins (Inter)
1 GABBIADINI Manolo (Southampton)
1 INSIGNE Lorenzo (Napoli)
1 PELLE Graziano (Shandang Luneng T.)


CAPTAINS

12 BUFFON Gianluigi (Juventus)


COACH

VENTURA Giampiero - 12 games
Azzurri used in the 2018 World Cup Qualifications
Manolo
GABBIADINI
(Napoli & Southampton - England)
4 Games, 1 Goal
8 Unused Call-Ups
Andrea
BARZAGLI
(Juventus)
10 Games
12 Unused call-Ups
Antonio
CANDREVA
(Inter
10 Games, 3 Goals
2 Unused Call-Ups
Gianluigi
BUFFON
(Juventus
12 Games
12 Captain
Nicolo
BARELLA
(Cagliari)
2 Unused Call-Ups
Ciro
IMMOBILE
(Lazio)
12 Games
6 Goals

Leonardo
BONUCCI
(Juventus & Milan)
10 Games
1 Unused Call-Up
Jorge Luiz
JORGINHO
(Napoli)
1 Game
1 Unused call-Up
Citadin Martins
EDER
(Inter)
8 Games, 1 Goal
4 Unused Call-Ups
Armando
IZZO
(Genoa)
1 Unused Call-Up
Stephan
EL SHAARAWY
(Roma)
2 Games
5 Unused Call-Ups
Marco
BENASSI
(Torino)
1 Unused Call-Up
Marco
VERRATTI
(Paris St Germain -
France)
7 Games
2 Unused Call-Ups
Daniele
RUGANI
(Juventus)
1 Game
8 Unused Call-Ups
Federico
MARCHETTI
(Lazio)
1 Unused Call-Up
Lorenzo
PELLEGRINI
(Sassuolo & Roma)
1 Game
3 Unused Call-Ups
Alessandro
FLORENZI
(Roma)
3 Games
2 Unused Call-Ups
Domenico
CRISCITO
(Zenith St Petersbourg -
Russia)
2 Unused Call-Ups
Federico
BERNARDESCHI
(Fiorentina & Juventus)
6 Games, 1 Goal
6 Unused Call-Ups
Bryan
CRISTANTE
(AStalanta)
1 Game
1 Unused Call-Up
Luca
ANTONELLI
(Milan)
1 Game
1 Unused Call-UP
Leonardo
SPINAZZOLA
(Atalanta)
3 Games
4 Unused Call-Ups
Andrea
CONTI
(Atalanta & Milan)
1 Game
2 Unused Call-Ups
Andrea
BELOTTI
(Torino)
9 Games, 4 Goal
2 Unused Call-Ups
Giorgio
CHIELLINI
(Juventus)
6 Games, 1 Goal
2 Unused Call-Ups
Nicola
SANSONE
(Villarreal - Spain)
1 Game
3 Unused Call-Ups
Gianluigi
DONNARUMA
(Milan)
12 Unused Call-Ups
Mattia
PERIN
(Genoa)
9 Unused Call-Ups
Simone
ZAZA
(West Ham United - England &
Valencia - Spain)
1 Game
2 Unused Call-Ups
Simone
VERDI
(Bologna)
1 Game
2 Unused Call-Ups
Roberto
INGLESE
(Chievo Verona)
2 Unused Call-Ups
Danilo
D'AMBROSIO
(Inter)
8 Unused Call
Leonardo
PAVOLETTI
(Genoa)
2 Unused Call-Ups
Davide
ZAPPACOSTA
(Torino & Chelsea - England)
5 Games
2 Unused Call-Ups
Angelo Obinze
OGBONNA
(West Ham United -
England)
1 Game
2 Unused Call-Ups
Gianluca
LAPADULA
(Milan)
1 Unused Call-Up
Davide
ASTORI
(Fiorentina)
1 Game
1 Unused Call-Up
Giacomo
BONAVENTURA
(Milan)
4 Games
Danilo
CATALDI
(Lazio)
1 Unused Call-Up
Simone
SCUFFET
(Udinese)
1 Unused Call-Up
Andrea
PETAGNA
(Atalanta)
1 Unused Call-Up1
Claudio
MARCHISIO
(Juventus)
1 Unused Call-Up
Matteo
DARMIAN
(Manchester United -
England)
7 Games
4 Unused Call-Ups
Mattia
DE SCIGLIO
(Milan)
4 Games
1 Unused Call-Up
Gian Marco
FERRARI
(Crotone)
1 Unused Call-Up
Matteo
POLITANO
(Sassuolo)
2 Unused Call-Ups
Graziano
PELLE
(Shandong Luneng -
China)
2 Games, 1 Goal
Marco
PAROLO
(Lazio)
7 Games
4 Unused Call-Ups
Alex
MERET
(Spal)
1 Unused Call-Up
Roberto
GAGLIARDINI
(Atalanta & Inter)
2 Games
5 Unused Call-Ups
Daniele
DE ROSSI
(Roma)
7 Games, 2 Goals
3 Unused Call-Ups
Other Azzurri used in Friendlies and Stages by Ventura
Riccardo
MONTOLIVO
(Milan)
2 Games
3 unused Call-Ups
Federico
BARBA
(Empoli)
Alessio
ROMAGNOLI
(Milan)
3 Games
2 Unused Call-Ups
Antonio
BARRECA
(Torino)
Claud
ADJAPONG
(Sassuolo)
Lorenzo
INSIGNE
(Napoli)
8 Games, 1 Goal
1 Unused Call-Up
Domenico
BERARDI
(Sassuolo)
Cristiano
BIRAGHI
(Pescara)
Daniele
BASELLI
(Torino)
Davide
CALABRIA
(Milan)
Mattia
CALDARA
(Atalanta)
Kevin
BONIFAZI
(Spal)
Federico
CECCHERINI
(Crotone)
Federico
CHIESA
(Fiorentina)
Gianluca
CAPRARI
(Pescara)
Alessio
CRAGNO
(Benevento)
Marco
D'ALESSANDRO
(Atalanta)
Amato
CICIRETTI
(Benevento)
Federico
DI FRANCESCO
(Bologna)
Federico
DIMARCO
(Empoli)
Cristian
DALL' ORCO
(Sassuolo)
Diego
FALCINELLI
(Crotone)
Andrea
FAVILLI
(Ascoli)
Dos Santos P.
EMERSON
(Roma)
Luca
GARRITANO
(Cesena)
Alberto
GRASSI
(Atalanta)
Alex
FERRARI
(Verona)
Pierluigi
GOLLINI
(Atalanta)
Manuel
LOCATELLI
(Milan)
Vittorio
PARIGINI
(Chievo Verona)
Filippo
ROMAGNA
(Brescia)
Rolando
MANDRAGORA
(Juventus)
Lorenzo
TONELLI
(Napoli)
Federico
ZAMPANO
(Pescara)
Marco
SPORTIELLO
(Atalanta)
Other Azzurri used only by Di Biagio and Mancini in Friendlies
Salvatore
SIRIGU
(Torino)
Patrick
CUTRONE
(Milan)
PANAMA
Hosts
DENMARK
GERMANY
BRAZIL
BELGIUM
FRANCE
Former World Champions
CROATIA
SPAIN
SERBIA
ENGLAND
NEW WORLD CHAMPIONS
SWITZERLAND
RUSSIA
ARGENTINA
IRAN
SOUTH KOREA
JAPAN
SAUDI ARABIA
COLOMBIA
URUGUAY
EGYPT
PERU
SENEGAL
PORTUGAL
POLAND
TUNISIA
Asian
Champions
MOROCCO
NIGERIA
SWEDEN
MEXICO
ICELAND
AUSTRALIA
COSTA RICA
Final Positions of the World Cup 2014
Final Positions of the EURO 2020
Final Positions of the World Cup 2018
32.
31.
30.
29.
28.
27.
26.
25.
24.
23.
22.
21.
20.
19.
18.
17.
16.
15.
14.
13.
12.
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
European
Champions
05-09-2016
05-09-2016
05-09-2016
06-10-2016
06-10-2016
06-10-2016
09-10-2016
09-10-2016
09-10-2016
12-11-2016
12-11-2016
12-11-2016
24-03-2017
24-03-2017
24-03-2017
Spain vs Liechtenstein
Albania vs Macedonia
Israel vs Italy
Italy vs Spain
Macedonia vs Israel
Liechtenstein vs Albania
Israel vs Liechtenstein
Macedonia vs Italy
Albania vs Spain
Spain vs Macedonia
Albania vs Israel
Liechtenstein vs Italy
Spain vs Israel
Italy  vs Albania
Liechtens. vs Macedonia
Italy vs Liechtenstein
Israel vs Albania
Macedonia vs Spain
Albania vs Liechtenstein
Israel vs Macedonia
Spain vs Italy
Italy vs Israel
Liechtenstein vs Spain
Macedonia vs Albania
Spain vs Albania
Italy  vs Macedonia
Liechtenstein vs Israel
Albania vs Italy
Israel vs Spain
Macedonia vs Liechtens.
Final Positions of the World Cup 2014
Final Positions of the EURO 2020
Italian Referees in the World Cup 2018
Daniele
ORSATO
(Referee)
Elenito
DI LIBERATORE
(Assistant Referee -
Linesman)
Mauro
TONOLINI
(Assistant Referee -
Linesman)
Massimiliano
IRRATI
(VAR)
Daniele
ORSATO
(Assistant VAR)
Gianluca
ROCCHI
(Referee)
Paolo
VALERI
(Assistant VAR)
ALL SIX TOGETHER

15 June 2018                                                           Round One Group B                     Portugal vs Spain: 3-3

Gianluca ROCCHI (Referee), Elenito DI LIBERATORE (Assistant Referee / Linesman), Mauro TONOLINI (Assistant Referee / Linesman), Massimiliano IRRATI (VAR) & Paolo VALERI (Assistant VAR)

24 June 2018                                                           Round one Group H                      Japan vs Senegal: 2-2

Gianluca ROCCHI (Referee), Elenito DI LIBERATORE (Assistant Referee / Linesman), Mauro TONOLINI (Assistant Referee / Linesman), Massimiliano IRRATI (VAR) & Daniele ORSATO (Assistant VAR)

2 July 2018                                                               Round Two                                   Brazil vs Mexico: 2-0

Massimiliano IRRATI (VAR), Gianluca ROCCHI (Assistant VAR) & Elenito DI LIBERATORE (Assistant VAR)

22 June 2018                                                           Round One Group D                    Nigeria vs Iceland: 2-0

Paolo VALERI (VAR), Gianluca ROCCHI (Assistant VAR)​ & Elenito DI LIBERATORE (Assistant VAR)

17 June 2018                                                           Round One Group E                    Brazil vs Switzerland: 1-1​

Gianluca ROCCHI (4th Official) & Mauro TONOLINI (Reserve Assistant Referee / Linesman)

26 June 2018                                                           Round One Group C                    Denmark vs France: 0-0

Massimiliano IRRATI (VAR) & Daniele ORSATO (Assistant VAR)

14 June 2018          Inauguration Match                Round One Group A                    Russia vs Saudi Arabia: 5-0

Massimiliano IRRATI (VAR) & Paolo VALERI (Assistant VAR)

25 June 2018                                                           Round One Group B                    Iran vs Portugal: 1-1
27 June 2018                                                           Round One Group E                    Serbia vs Brazil: 0-2
30 June 2018                                                           Round Two                                   France vs Argentina: 4-3
6 July 2018                                                               Quarter-Final                               Uruguay vs France: 0-2
7 July 2018                                                               Quarter-Final                               Russia vs Croatia: 2-2 (3-4 PSO)
10 July 2018            Semi-Final                                                                                    France vs Belgium: 1-0

Daniele ORSATO (VAR) & Massimiliano IRRATI (Assistant VAR)

26 June 2018                                                           Round One Group D                    Nigeria vs Argentina: 1-2
3 July 2018                                                               Round Two                                   Sweden vs Switzerland: 1-0

Daniele ORSATO (VAR) & Paolo VALERI (Assistant VAR)

28 June 2018                                                           Round One Group H                   Japan vs Poland: 0-1

Paolo VALERI (VAR) & Elenito DI LIBERATORE (Assistant VAR)

26 June 2018                                                           Round One Group D                    Iceland vs Croatia: 1-2

Gianluca ROCCHI & Elenito DI LIBERATORE (both Assistant VAR)

28 June 2018                                                           Round One Group H                   Senegal vs Colombia: 0-1

Massimiliano IRRATI (VAR)

17 June 2018                                                           Round One Group F                    Germany vs Mexico: 0-1
19 June 2018                                                           Round One Group A                    Russia vs Egypt: 3-1
15 July 2018             Final                                                                                            France vs Croatia: 4-2

Daniele ORSATO (VAR)

16 June 2018                                                           Round One Group D                   Croatia vs Nigeria: 2-0
21 June 2018                                                           Round One Group C                   France vs Peru: 1-0
23 June 2018                                                           Round One Group F                   South Korea vs Mexico: 1-2
6 July 2018                                                              Quarter-Final                               Brazil vs Belgium: 1-2

Massimiliano IRRATI (Assistant VAR)

20 June 2018                                                           Round One Group B                   Iran vs Spain: 0-1

Paolo ORSATO (Assiastant VAR)

18 June 2018                                                           Round One Group F                   Sweden vs South Korea: 1-0
20 June 2018                                                           Round One Group A                   Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia: 1-0
24 June 2018                                                           Round One Group H                   Poland vs Colombia: 0-3
25 June 2018                                                           Round One Group A                   Uruguay vs Russia: 3-0
1 July 2018                                                               Round Two                                 Croatia vs Denmark: 1-1 (3-2 PSO)

Paolo VALERI (Assistant VAR)

21 June 2018                                                           Round One Group C                   Denmark vs Australia: 1-1
23 June 2018                                                           Round One Group F                   Germany vs Sweden: 2-1
14 July 2018             3/4 Place Final                                                                           Belgium vs England: 2-0