Water Polo - Team Italy

Nickname
Il Settebello

General
Three-time Olympic champions Italy last won gold at the Games in Barcelona in 1992. They came close to adding a fourth Olympic title at both the past two Games, but are yet to return to the top step of the podium. In London in 2012, Italy had to settle for silver after losing 8-6 to Croatia in the final, while at Rio 2016 the team were beaten by eventual champions Serbia in the semifinals before winning bronze with victory over Montenegro.

Italy secured qualification for Tokyo with victory at the 2019 World Championships, which was the team's fourth world title overall and their first since 2011. Having progressed through the group stage unbeaten with three victories, Italy overcame Greece and Hungary in the knockout stages before defeating Spain 10-5 in the final.

They reached the World League Super Final in 2017, finishing runners-up after losing to Serbia by one goal in the final.

They are three-time European champions, having won the title in 1947 and then at back-to-back editions of the tournament in 1993 and 1995. They last finished on the podium at the 2014 European Championship in Budapest, where they placed third. At the most recent edition of the continental championship in 2020, they were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Montenegro and were ranked sixth.