After a lengthy period away from the pitch due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Italian National Team return to action in September with a more-than-packed calendar, which will see Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri engaged in a real tour de force. Eight games across a period of 75 days, with trips to the Netherlands, Poland and Bosnia & Herzegovina adding to five fixtures on home soil.

Italy get back underway with two back-to-back games in the UEFA Nations League, as they first face Bosnia & Herzegovina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence on Friday 4 September. The Azzurri are currently unbeaten in the Tuscan capital, having played 26, won 20 and drawn six. Their last game at the Franchi came five years ago, as Graziano Pellé’s goal in a 1-0 win over Malta secured three precious points towards EURO 2016 qualification for the Azzurri.

On Monday 7 September, Italy will then head to the Johan Cruyff ArenA in Amsterdam to face the Netherlands. This will be the Azzurri’s eleventh trip to the Dutch capital, with a record of two wins and three draws from the times they’ve faced the home side and five more games coming from Italy’s bronze-winning efforts at the 1928 Olympics (four wins, four draws and one defeat in the whole tournament).

The month of October will hold three fixtures for Italy, beginning with a friendly against Moldova on Wednesday the 7th at the Stadio Ennio Tardini in Parma, where Mancini’s Azzurri hit six goals against Liechtenstein in March 2019. This will mark Italy’s eighth game in the Emilian city, with a record of six wins and one loss until now (against France in 2012). Next up, two more matches in the UNL, with one against Poland in Gdańsk (Sunday 11 October at the Energa Arena) and the other against the Netherlands once more, this time on Wednesday 14 October at the Stadio San Siro in Milan, the city in which the Azzurri played their first-ever game 110 years ago at the Arena Civica. Italy have faced a total of 23 opponents in their 58 games in the Lombardian capital (including two friendly wins over the Netherlands: 3-2 in 1928 and 3-0 in 1979), the overall record reading 37 wins, 18 draws and two defeats with an average of 2.24 points per game (130 points from 58 games). The Azzurri haven’t lost in Milan for 95 years, and are unbeaten in their 45 games at San Siro, now called the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

November will conclude a packed end to the year for Italy, with three more games for the Azzurri as they head to Benevento for the first time in their 110-year history, hosting Estonia for a friendly at the Stadio Ciro Vigorito on Wednesday 11 November.

Italy will then travel to the Stadio Olimpico in Rome as they welcome Poland in the Nations League on Sunday the 15th. While Benevento prepares to welcome the National Team for the first time ever, Rome has hosted the Azzurri more times than any other city, with 59 games having been played in the capital (35 wins, 17 draws and seven defeats). It will be Italy’s first time back in Rome since their 2-0 win over Greece last year (goals from Jorginho and Bernardeschi), which saw the Azzurri secure mathematic qualification for EURO 2020. For a brief while from mid-October, Milan will catch up with Rome on 59 games, but 2020 will finish with the capital back in front on 60.

All eight of Italy’s fixtures are set to kick off at 20:45 CEST/CET.

Italy’s fixture list for 2020:

4 September (Nations League): Italy vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina (20:45) - Florence
7 September (Nations League): Netherlands vs. Italy (20:45) - Amsterdam
7 October (Friendly): Italy vs. Moldova (20:45) - Parma
11 October (Nations League): Poland vs. Italy (20:45) - Gdansk
14 October (Nations League): Italy vs. Netherlands (20:45) - Milan
11 November (Friendly): Italy vs. Estonia (20:45) - Benevento
15 November (Nations League): Italy vs. Poland (20:45) - Rome
18 November (Nations League): Bosnia & Herzegovina vs. Italy (20:45)