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
2003 FIFA Confederations Cup World Cup runners-up. So did Spain, who were ranked second in the FIFA World Rankings at the time. They were replaced by Turkey, who came third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Five bids came before the deadline at 1 May 2002. Australia, Portugal and the United States put in single bids, while South Africa–Egypt and France–Switzerland put in joint bids. The France–Switzerland bid never materialized. The host was selected on 24 September 2002, during a meeting of FIFA's Executive Committee. The matches were played in: For a list of all squads that appeared in the tournament, see "2003 FIFA