Panico made her senior international debut on 8 April 1996, in Italy's 4–1 1997 UEFA Women's Championship qualification win over Portugal in Mestre. She started the match and scored Italy's first goal after five minutes of play. Panico was selected for the final tournament in Norway. She scored in a 2–2 group stage draw with Denmark, as Italy reached the final which they lost 2–0 to Germany.