Italy have never lost to England in a major tournament, while their record against Germany in competition is also excellent and they take on Marco Rossi’s Hungary in the Nations League Group of Death.
Roberto Mancini certainly did not get the luck of the draw today, despite being top seeds in the Nations League 2022/23 campaign after securing the bronze medal in the 2020/21 edition.
It comes just months after Italy beat England on penalties at Wembley, following a 1-1 draw, in July to lift the UEFA EURO 2020 trophy.
That result consolidated the statistic that Italy have never lost to England at a major tournament, winning 1-0 at Euro 1980, 2-1 in the 1990 and 2014 World Cups, then on penalties at Euro 2012 and the Euro 2020 Final.
Their total record against England, including friendlies, is of 12 wins, eight draws and eight defeats, the Azzurri scoring 39 goals and conceding 38.
England have just one victory over Italy in the last nine meetings, a 2-1 friendly result in August 2012, along with three draws and five defeats, two of those on penalties.
The rivalry with Germany is historic, including the Game of the Century in the 1970 World Cup semi-final, which ended 4-3 for Italy in extra time.
There was more recently the 2006 World Cup semi-final, which saw the Nazionale beat Germany on their own turf 2-0 in extra time with last-gasp goals from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero.
The record against Germany is of 15 Italy victories, nine defeats and 11 draws.
The tide has turned a little recently, with Italy not winning since the Euro 2012 semi-final, a 2-1 game sealed by the Mario Balotelli brace.
That was followed by a 1-1 friendly draw, 4-1 friendly defeat, the loss on penalties in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals and the 0-0 friendly draw in November 2016.
Italy have played Hungary on 33 occasions, winning 16, drawing nine and losing eight.
They haven’t crossed paths since the Azzurri’s 3-1 friendly loss in Budapest in August 2007.
There are very few occasions in which these nations met in official competition, Italy winning the 1938 World Cup Final 4-2, then just qualifiers.
In both those build-ups to Euro 1992 and the 2002 World Cup, Italy won at home and drew in Hungary.
The important issue here is that Hungary currently have an Italian coach, 57-year-old Marco Rossi, who has been at the helm since 2018.
He’s had very impressive results, managing 18 wins, eight draws and 13 defeats on their bench.