Italy Top Scorers of All Time

Having that in mind, we should say that based on Italy national football team statistics and records even the nation’s top scorer of all time, Luigi Riva, has not scored more than 35 international goals during his career with the second position on the list keeping close to him with 33 goals and the rest following each other with the difference of 2 or 3 goals as mentioned above.

This is as, for instance, Germany top scorer of all time, Miroslav Klose, has scored 71 goals during his career and the difference between the second and third positions on the list of Germany top scorer of all time is 19 goals. Seems like Italy are not a goalscoring nation at all, though they are among the best in the world of football and based on their 2021 FIFA ranking - 4th among all the nations in the world.

A List of Italy National Team All-Time Top Scorers

Here is a list of

Italy national team all-time top scorers

, indeed, based on Italy national football team statistics and records.

Luigi Riva (35 Goals)

Number one the list of Italy top scorers of all time, Luigi Riva is a 76-year-old retired footballer who managed to score 35 goals for the

during his career becoming Italy’s top scorer of all time and keeping his position up to this date (2021). He scored all his 35 international goals in 42 appearances between 1965 and 1974 which makes his goal-to-appearance ratio actually the second highest ratio on the list and with a very narrow margin actually with the highest ratio on the list: 0.83 vs Silvio Piola’s ratio of 0.88.

Most of the international goals Riva scored for Italy were actually in World Cup qualifiers (14 goals in 10 appearances) and after that in international friendlies (8). It might be interesting for you to know that Riva only scored 3 goals in the World Cup editions he took part in, namely the 1966, 1970, and 1974 editions of the competition, which actually comprises 8.5% of all his international goals, however, he’s the record holder both for the most number of goals scored at FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds (14) and the most number of combined goals scored at FIFA World Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds (17) among Italy all-time top scorers.

Riva was actually part of the Italian national team who finished as runners-up in 1970 World Cup, and although he didn’t perform well in the competition’s group stage, he was good in the later stages and even helped his team beat West Germany 4-3 in the semi-final, but not good enough to have them win the competition. And in all his international appearances Riva only received one yellow card and in 1972 Euro qualifiers.

Giuseppe Meazza (33 Goals)

With a difference of only 2 goals from Luigi Riva, Giuseppe Meazza is actually our second footballer on the list of

Italy top scorers of all time

with 33 goals. Meazza scored all his 33 goals in 53 appearances for Italy which gets him an international goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.62 meaning that the passed Italian footballer scored a little bit more than 3 goals (exactly 3.1) in every 5 appearances for his country’s national team.

Meazza was part of the Italian national team who won the 1934 and 1938 editions of FIFA World Cup and even captained his team in the latter edition, however, he scored 28 (84%) of his 33 international goals in friendlies and only 5 in World Cup and World Cup qualifying rounds. He alongside Giovanni Ferrari, Guido Masetti and Eraldo Monzeglio are the only Italian footballers who have won two World Cups during their international careers which is a record not only among Italy top scorers of all time but also all the Italian footballers in the history of football - indeed, to this date. Meazza received no yellow or red cards during his international career.

Silvio Piola (30 Goals)

One of the two passed footballers on the list of Italy top scorers of all time, Silvio Piola served as a striker during his career and for the Italian national team he actually scored 30 goals in 34 appearances between 1935 and 1952 which gets him the highest international goal-to-appearance ratio among Italy national team all-time top scorers: 0.88.

Piola was part of the Italian national team who won 1938 FIFA World Cup. He made 4 appearances in World Cup in which he scored 5 goals and maybe it’s interesting for you to know that 47 years before

it was Piola who scored a goal with his hand actually in a friendly against England in 1939 which ended in a 2-2 draw - he actually scored the second equalizing goal. The rest of Piola’s international goals were scored in international friendlies: 25 goals in 31 appearances and he never received a yellow or red card in his international appearances. And Piola also holds the record of most goals scored on opposition soil (13) for Italy, indeed, jointly with Italy’s top scorer of all time, Luigi Riva.

Roberto Baggio (27 Goals)

One of the finest footballers Italy has ever produced and the fourth position on the list of

Italy top scorers of all time

, Roberto Baggio is a 54-year-old retired footballer who managed to score 27 goals in the 57 appearances that he made for the Italian national team. That actually gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.48 which means he scored almost one goal (exactly 0.96) in every two international appearances he made.

took part in 3 World Cup editions, namely the 1990, 1994, and 1998 editions of the competition, with the Italian national team, but luck was not with him in none of them and he never won a World Cup, though he finished third and as runner-up in the 1990 and 1994 World Cup editions, respectively. From among all the 27 international goals Baggio scored, 9 were scored in World Cup, 6 in World Cup qualifiers, 10 in friendlies, and 2 in Euro qualifiers.

He also received 3 yellow cards in his international appearances but no red card. Baggio is the only footballer among Italy national team all-time top scorers - at least among the first 10 - who managed to win a Ballon d’Or trophy during his career; actually in 1993 where he was also awarded FIFA World Player of the Year, and in the following year (1994) he finished second in the Ballon d’Or trophy contest.

Alessandro Del Piero (27 Goals)

One of the most beloved footballers in the history of Italian football, Alessandro Del Piero shares his positions with Roberto Baggio on the list of

Italy all-time top scorers

with the 27 goals he scored for the Italian national team during his international career. He scored all his 27 international goals in 91 appearances which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.3 - lowest on the list - meaning that the 46-year-old retired Italian footballer scored near one goal (exactly 0.9) in every 3 appearances that he made for his country’s national team.

Del Piero served the Italian national team between 1995 and 2008 and took part in three editions of World Cup, namely the 1998, 2002, and 2006 editions, winning the last one (2006 edition) with them. He also served

, U18, and U21 teams before Italy senior national team with better goalscoring results: 16 goals in 29 appearances. Del Piero scored 2 goals in World Cup, 6 goals in World Cup qualifiers, 10 goals in international friendlies, 1 goal in Euro, and 8 goals in Euro qualifiers during his international career. He also received 5 yellow cards but no red card during this time.

Adolfo Baloncieri (25 Goals)

The second passed footballer on the list of Italy top scorers of all time, Adolfo Baloncieri scored a total of 25 goals in the 47 appearances that he made for the Italian national team between 1920 and 1930 which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.53 meaning that the passed Italian footballer scored a little bit more than one goal (exactly 1.06) in every 2 appearances that he made for his country’s national team.

At the time Baloncieri served the Italian national team, there was no World Cup, however, he managed to win two international trophies, namely an Olympic bronze medal in 1928 and a 1927-30 Central European International Cup, with his country’s national team. Baloncieri scored 8 of his international goals in Olympic games and the rest 17 in international friendlies. With his 25 international goals, although Baloncieri doesn’t top the list of Italy top scorers of all time, he’s the highest scoring midfielder in the history of Italian football.

Alessandro Altobelli (25 Goals)

Part of the Italian national team who won 1982 FIFA World Cup, Alessandro Altobelli is a 65-year-old retired Italian footballer who served his country’s national team between 1980 and 1988 and as a forward. During the time mentioned, he actually managed to score 25 goals in the 61 appearances that he made for Italy which means he scored 0.41 goals in every appearance or, better said, a little bit more than 2 goals (exactly 2.05) in every 5 appearances.

From among all the 25 goals Altobelli scored for Italy 5 were scored in World Cup, 11 in international friendlies, 1 in Euro, and 8 in Euro qualifiers. He never received a yellow or red card in his international appearances. It might be interesting for you to know that Altobelli is

top scorer of all time with 56 goals as of this date (2021).

Filippo Inzaghi (25 Goals)

Another of beloved Italian footballers with three records to his name: The seventh highest Italian scorer - across all competitions - with 313 goals, the sixth highest goal scorer in European clubs competitions with 70 goals, and the most number of hat tricks scored ever in Serie A with 10 hat tricks. None of these records are with the Italian national team, however, what they implicate is that Inzaghi is never a player to be ignored, though he’s not at the top of the list of

Italy top scorers of all time

.

took part in 3 editions of FIFA World Cup, namely the 1998, 2002, and 2006 editions of the competition, with the Italian national team and actually won the last one (2006 edition) with them. He scored all his 25 goals in 57 appearances for the Italian national team which gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.44 meaning that the 48-year-old retired Italian footballer scored a little bit more than 3 goals (exactly 3.08) in every 7 appearances that he made for his country’s national team.

From among all the 25 goals Inzaghi scored for Italy, 1 was scored in World Cup, 7 were scored in World Cup qualifiers, 3 in friendlies, 2 in Euro, and the most number of his international goals (12) - actually half of them - in Euro qualifiers. Inzaghi never received a yellow or red card in his international appearances, and with Italy U21 team, he won a UEFA European Under-21 championship in 1994.

Francesco Graziani (23 Goals)

Having served the Italian national team for 8 years between 1975 and 1983, Francesco Graziani is a 68-year-old retired Italian footballer who managed to score 23 goals in his 64 international appearances. That actually gets him a goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.36 meaning that the retired Italian footballer scored a little bit more than one goal (exactly 1.08) in every three appearances that he made for his country’s national team.

Graziani was part of the Italian national team who won 1982 World Cup, however, he only scored one goal in all his 10 World Cup appearances which occurred in 1978 and 1982 editions of the competitions. Like some other footballers on the list of Italy top scorers of all time, Graziani scored most of his international goals in friendly matches which counts to 14 goals in 22 appearances. He also received 2 yellow cards during his international career but no red card.

Christian Vieri (23 Goals)

Sharing his position with Francesco Graziani on the list of Italy top scorers of all time with 23 goals, Christian Vieri is a 48-year-old retired Italian footballer who although scored 23 international goals, he did in less appearances compared to Graziani and that means he gets a better goal-to-appearance ratio than him; actually 0.47 which comes from the 23 goals he scored in 49 international appearances.

 won no World Cup with the Italian national team despite taking part in two editions of the competition, namely the 1998 and 2002 editions, with them, however, he managed to win FIFA World Cup Silver Boot in 1998 World Cup and was named on FIFA World Cup All-Star Team as a reserve in the same year. Vieri also served Italian U21 national team between 1992 and 1996 making 22 appearances and scoring 11 goals for them in the process - exactly one goal in every two appearances. He also won two UEFA Under-21 European championships with the same team in 1994 and 1996.

Unlike some other footballers on the list who scored most of their international goals in friendlies, Vieri scored most of his international goals in World Cup matches. He actually made 9 World Cup appearances during his international career in each of which he scored a goal - 9 goals in total. The rest of Vieri’s international goals were scored in World Cup qualifiers (3), friendlies (5), and Euro qualifiers (6). Vieri received no yellow or red card during his international career.

The Rest of the List of Italy Top Scorers of All Time

Based on

Italy national football team statistics and records

, the next 10 footballers on the list of Italy top scorers of all time are as follows. Please note that by ratio below we mean international goal-to-appearance ratio.

• Sandro Mazzola, Goals: 22, Apps: 70, Ratio: 0.31, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Daniele De Rossi, Goals: 21, Apps: 117, Ratio: 0.18, Pos: midfielder, Status: retired

• Paolo Rossi, Goals: 20, Apps: 48, Ratio: 0.42, Pos: forward, Status: passed away

• Roberto Bettega, Goals: 19, Apps: 42, Ratio: 0.45, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Alberto Gilardino, Goals: 19, Apps: 57, Ratio: 0.33, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Adolfo Baloncieri, Goals: 17, Apps: 37, Ratio: 0.46, Pos: forward, Status: passed away

• Luca Toni, Goals: 16, Apps: 47, Ratio: 0.34, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Gianluca Vialli, Goals: 16, Apps: 59, Ratio: 0.27, Pos: forward, Status: retired

• Julio Libonatti, Goals: 15, Apps: 17, Ratio: 0.88, Pos: forward, Status: passed away

• Gino Colaussi, Goals: 15, Apps: 26, Ratio: 0.58, Pos: winger, Status: passed away

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