 Nearly two years after his debut, Abate scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Germany in November 2013, which ended in a 1–1 draw.He was part of Cesare Prandelli's 23-man Italy squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil, making 1 appearance throughout the tournament, in Italy's 1–0 defeat against Costa Rica in their second group match, as Italy were eliminated in the group stage.Abate and his wife Valentina have three sons, Matteo (born 19 November 2011), Andrea (born 14 May 2013) and Benjamin (born 23 February 2018).