On 10 October 2015, El Shaarawy ended a three-year goal drought, scoring the winner in Italy's 3–1 away victory over Azerbaijan in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match; this was his first international goal since November 2012, and the win guaranteed Italy a place at the final tournament. On 31 May 2016, he was named to Antonio Conte's 23-man Italy squad for the upcoming championship in France. He made his only appearance at Euro 2016 on 22 June, coming off the bench in Italy's final group match against the Republic of Ireland.