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, 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'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
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Riva goal.
^FIGC (8 May 2020). "Classifica Marcatori". Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.