Italy at the FIFA World Cup Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is one of only three players who have been part of five FIFA World Cup squads. Two Italians were awarded the Golden Boot for best goalscorer at a FIFA World Cup: Paolo Rossi in 1982 and Salvatore Schillaci in 1990 with 6 goals each. Golden Ball award Golden Boot award Other individual awards Three World Cup finals have been officiated by representatives of the Italian football federation, only English referees have had the honour more often (four times). The 1978 final between Argentina and the Netherlands has been led by Sergio Gonella, who had already officiated the
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group F was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The group was one of nine qualifying groups from UEFA and comprised Azerbaijan, Israel, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, Portugal and Russia. The group winners, Russia, qualified directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Portugal placed among the eight best runners-up and advanced to the play-offs, where they were drawn to play home-and-away matches against Sweden. They won both matches and thus also qualified for the World Cup. The match schedule was determined