List of international goals scored by Gigi Riva

A standing man wearing a light blue sports shirt
Luigi Riva scored 35 international goals in 42 appearances for Italy.

Luigi 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,[1] making him the country's all-time top goalscorer.[2] 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.[1] Riva made his last appearance for Italy on 19 June 1974 in a 1–1 draw against Argentina during the 1974 FIFA World Cup.[1]

Riva scored a second hat-trick for his national team in a 4–1 win against Wales in a 1970 World Cup qualifier.[1] He scored six times in total against Luxembourg, the most against any team.[1] On 31 March 1973, he scored four goals against Luxembourg during a 1974 World Cup qualifier.[1] He also scored a brace (two goals) seven times.[1] 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.[1]

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.[1] Two years later, Riva scored three goals in the 1970 FIFA World Cup,[1] 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.[1]

International goals

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[1]
No. Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 4 1 November 1967 Stadio San Vito, Cosenza, Italy  Cyprus 3–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 1968 qualifier [3]
2 4–0
3 5–0
4 5 18 November 1967 Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland   Switzerland 1–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 1968 qualifier [3]
5 2–2 ‡
6 6 23 December 1967 Stadio Amsicora, Cagliari, Italy   Switzerland 2–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 1968 qualifier [3]
7 7 10 June 1968 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy  Yugoslavia 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 1968 [3]
8 8 23 October 1968 Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales  Wales 1–0 1–0 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier [3]
9 9 1 January 1969 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Mexico 1–1 3–2 Friendly [3]
10 3–2
11 11 29 March 1969 Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, East Berlin, East Germany  East Germany 1–1 2–2 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier [3]
12 2–2
13 13 4 November 1969 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy  Wales 1–0 4–1 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier [3]
14 3–1
15 4–1
16 14 22 November 1969 Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy  East Germany 3–0 3–0 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier [3]
17 15 21 February 1970 Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain  Spain 2–0 2–2 Friendly [4]
18 16 10 May 1970 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal  Portugal 1–0 2–1 Friendly [4]
19 2–0
20 20 14 June 1970 Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca, Mexico  Mexico 2–1 4–1 1970 FIFA World Cup [4]
21 4–1
22 21 17 June 1970 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  West Germany 3–2 4–3 1970 FIFA World Cup [4]
23 26 9 October 1971 San Siro, Milan, Italy  Sweden 1–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 1972 qualifier [4]
24 3–0
25 30 13 May 1972 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Belgium 2–1 ‡ 2–1 UEFA Euro 1972 qualifier [4]
26 31 20 September 1972 Stadio Municipale, Turin, Italy  Yugoslavia 1–0 3–1 Friendly [4]
27 32 7 October 1972 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 2–0 4–0 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier [4]
28 3–0
29 36 31 March 1973 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy  Luxembourg 1–0 5–0 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier [4]
30 2–0
31 4–0
32 5–0
33 37 9 June 1973 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy  Brazil 1–0 2–0 Friendly [4]
34 38 29 September 1973 San Siro, Milan, Italy  Sweden 2–0 2–0 Friendly [4]
35 39 20 October 1973 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy   Switzerland 2–0 2–0 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier [4]

Statistics

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Pierrend, José Luis (11 November 2001). "Luigi Riva – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  2. ^ FIGC (8 May 2020). "Classifica Marcatori". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mariani, Maurizio (21 April 2011). "Italy – International Matches 1960–1969". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mariani, Maurizio (25 May 2002). "Italy – International Matches 1970–1979". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Luigi Riva » Internationals". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.