Wembley Stadium, inaugurated on 28 April 1923, is 100 years old today. In what is now commonly regarded as a 'mythical place of football' for its long and fascinating history, it has also played a part in the history of Italian football, and in particular of the national team.

The Azzurri, in fact, have written some of the most important pages in the history of Italian football there: 8 matches have been played in this stadium (2 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats), 7 of which with England and one with Argentina (the 2022 Finalissima). The Azzurri's first time at Wembley dates back to 1959: after the first two defeats in London and at Highbury (where the legend of the 'Lions of Highbury' was born, a 3-2 defeat) and White Hart Lane (2-0), the friendly match on 6 May ended 2-2 (goals by Brighenti and Mariani after ending the first half 2-0 down). In fact there had already been an Italian at Wembley: in 1953, in fact, Giampiero Boniperti was in the Rest of the World eleven that challenged England (scoring 2 goals, it ended 4-4).

The history of the Italian national team with Wembley and England would change in 1973: after the first victory against the English in June in Turin, on 14 November the Azzurri repeated precisely that at Wembley, Fabio Capello's goal going down in history as the first Italian success on English soil. 

After the 1977 defeat and the 0-0 friendly in 1989, another Italian star would light up Wembley: in 1997, a World Cup qualifier for France 98, Gianfranco Zola, recently nominated in the 'Hall of Fame of Italian football', scored the goal in the 1-0 that gave us the second success in the legendary stadium and was, in a way, a sign of destiny that would lead him to make the fans in London, Chelsea, fall in love with him a few years later.

After the memorable successes of '73 and '97 (and a friendly draw in 2018), the third success came about from a draw: the 1-1 draw in the EURO 2020 Final, which eventually crowned Italy as European champions on penalties in July 2021. The Wembley arch, a new addition to the new stadium built in 2007 on the remains of the old one, was lit up in Azzurro and the Italian Tricolour on a night that has gone down in history.

The Arch had already been lit up with the Tricolour on 27 March 2020, when Southgate and Mancini's national teams were due to face each other at Wembley in a friendly that was later cancelled due to Covid-19 and the FA had thus decided to send a strong message of solidarity to Italy. The last appearance at Wembley was in the Finalissima, lost 3-0 in June 2022 to Argentina.

Wembley's history, however, is also linked to the National Under-21 team: on 24 March 2007, in fact, the new stadium was inaugurated with the friendly match between Italy and England Under-21s, 3-3 the final result with Giampaolo Pazzini's hat-trick, who entered Italian history at the stadium with Capello and Zola and was the first scorer in the new Wembley. Even at club level, two European Cup finals played here (seven in all) are linked to Italian teams: AC Milan lifted the trophy in 1963 by beating Eusebio's Benfica with a brace from Jose Altafini, for their first European Cup and the first success of an Italian team in the tournament; Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli's Sampdoria were beaten in extra time by Barcelona in 1992.

Also worth mentioning is the success of the Women's National Team, who on 18 August 1990 at Wembley, before the Community Shield match between Liverpool and Manchester United, overcame England 4-1 in a friendly match thanks to Carolina Morace, who scored all four goals.

Wembley is also linked to a part of Italian referee history: two Italian referees have been appointed in this stadium for the European Cup / Champions League Final: Concetto Lo Bello was in charge of Manchester United 4-2 Benfica in 1968, Nicola Rizzoli refereed Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Bayern Munich in 2013.

Among the stars, finally, two special mentions: Cesare Maldini was a key part at Wembley both as a player (in the final won by AC Milan against Benfica) and as coach of the national team (he led the Azzurri to success in 1997). Giorgio Chiellini ended his long career with the national team here (117 appearances, the last at Wembley in the finalissima against Argentina).

Fifa president Gianni Infantino also paid tribute to the stadium's anniversary today: ''Wembley holds a unique place in football history. Since it first opened in 1923, it has hosted countless world-class sporting events and witnessed so many unforgettable iconic moments that it is impossible to list them all. I am sure that over the next 100 years this list will continue to expand and I hope to be present for many of these moments."

Wembley Stadium. Built in an area of Wembley Park Golf Club for the 1924-25 British Empire Exhibition, it was opened on 28 April 1923 by King George V as the Empire Stadium, for the FA Cup final won 2-0 by Bolton over West Ham, in front of 126,945 spectators, a record that still stands to this day. Located in the London Borough of Brent, it was demolished in 2002 to make way for the new stadium.

In its history, it has hosted a World Cup (1966), 2 men's European Championships (1996 and 2020) and a women's European Championships (2022), and in all cases it has been the scene of the Final. It has also hosted 7 Champions League Finals; 2 Cup Winners' Cup Finals and 2 Olympic Games (1948 and 2012).

Managed by the English Football Association (The FA), which has its offices inside the stadium, it hosts the semi-finals and final of the FA Cup, the Men's and Women's Community Shield Final, the EFL Trophy, the English Football League Playoff finals, the Women's FA Cup Final and other lower division competitions, as well as being the home stadium of the English national team.

It has hosted numerous sporting and other events: some matches of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, NFL competitions, as well as some memorable concerts such as Live Aid, on 13 July 1985, and the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, on 20 April 1992. Unforgettable on 16 June 1963 was the boxing match between Cassius Clay and Henry Cooper, which went down in history because Clay at the end of the fourth round went down for the first time in his career and was saved by the gong. He then recovered by getting the better of the British boxer, who was forced to abandon the fight due to injuries to his face.