Gigi Riva was an Italian professional footballer who represented the Italy national football team as a forward. Since debuting for Italy against Hungary on 27 June 1965, Riva scored 35 goals in 42 appearances, making him the country's all-time top goalscorer. He scored his first international goal in his fourth appearance for his country on 1 November 1967, as part of a hat-trick scored against Cyprus during a UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying match. Riva made his last appearance for Italy on 19 June 1974 in a 1–1 draw against Argentina during the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

Riva scored a second hat-trick for his national team in a 4–1 win against Wales in a 1970 World Cup qualifier. He scored six times in total against Luxembourg, the most against any team. On 31 March 1973, he scored four goals against Luxembourg during a 1974 World Cup qualifier. He also scored a brace (two goals) seven times. Riva scored one goal at the UEFA European Championship, three goals at the World Cup, eight goals in friendly matches, nine goals in European Championship qualifiers and 14 goals in World Cup qualifiers.

Riva's first international tournament was the UEFA Euro 1968, where he scored the opening goal in the replay of the final helping Italy to a 2–0 win against Yugoslavia. Two years later, Riva scored three goals in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, twice against Mexico in a 4–1 victory in the quarter-finals and a goal in the 4–3 win against West Germany in the semi-finals after extra time.

International goals <onlyinclude> Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Riva goal. + Key Indicates goal was scored from a penalty kick

+List of international goals scored by Gigi Riva Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 41 November 1967Stadio San Vito, Cosenza, Italy3–05–0UEFA Euro 1968 qualifier 24–0 35–0 4 518 November 1967Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland 1–1 2–2UEFA Euro 1968 qualifier 52–2 6 623 December 1967Stadio Amsicora, Cagliari, Italy2–04–0UEFA Euro 1968 qualifier 7 710 June 1968Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy1–02–0UEFA Euro 1968 8 823 October 1968Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales1–01–01970 FIFA World Cup qualifier 9 91 January 1969Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico1–13–2Friendly 103–2 11 1129 March 1969Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, East Berlin, East Germany1–12–21970 FIFA World Cup qualifier 122–2 13 134 November 1969Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy1–04–11970 FIFA World Cup qualifier 143–1 154–1 16 1422 November 1969Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy3–03–01970 FIFA World Cup qualifier 17 1521 February 1970Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain2–02–2Friendly 18 1610 May 1970Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal1–02–1Friendly 192–0 20 2014 June 1970Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca, Mexico2–14–11970 FIFA World Cup 21 4–1 22 2117 June 1970Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico3–24–31970 FIFA World Cup 23269 October 1971San Siro, Milan, Italy1–03–0UEFA Euro 1972 qualifier 243–0 25 3013 May 1972King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 1972 qualifier 26 3120 September 1972Stadio Municipale, Turin, Italy1–03–1Friendly 27327 October 1972Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg2–04–01974 FIFA World Cup qualifier 283–0 29 3631 March 1973Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy1–05–01974 FIFA World Cup qualifier 302–0 314–0 325–0 33 379 June 1973Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy1–02–0Friendly 34 3829 September 1973San Siro, Milan, Italy2–02–0Friendly 35 3920 October 1973Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy2–02–01974 FIFA World Cup qualifier

Statistics

+Goals by yearYearCompetitiveFriendlyTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals19650010101966001010196736104619682200221969363268197073331061971102232197243216419734532771974200020Total272515104235

+Goals by competition Competition Apps GoalsFIFA World Cup83FIFA World Cup qualification1014Friendlies158UEFA European Championship11UEFA European Championship qualification89 Total4235

References