Volleyball - Team Italy

General
Italy qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games by winning Pool F of the 2019 Intercontinental Olympic Qualification Tournament on home soil in Catania. The team did not drop a set in three matches against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Kenya.

The Italians made their Olympic debut at the 2000 Games in Sydney, and Tokyo marks their sixth consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games. In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, they only won one match in the preliminary round and failed to progress to the quarterfinal stage for the first time since 2000. They made the last eight in 2004, 2008, and 2012, but exited the tournament at that point following defeats to Cuba, the United States of America, and the Republic of Korea, respectively.

Italy were runners-up at the 2018 World Championships in Japan, where they played 16 matches before qualifying for the semifinals. After defeating the People's Republic of China 3-2 in the last four, they faced Serbia in the final and contested another five-set match, this time losing 3-2. Italy's only other world championship medal came in 2002, when they secured their sole title to date with a 3-2 victory over the United States of America in the final.

Italy won back-to-back World Cup titles in 2007 and 2011, but have not taken part in the competition since. They reached the Final Round of the Nations League in 2019, and eventually placed fifth.