Giovinco started in the first game of Italy's 2014 World Cup Qualification campaign against Bulgaria in Sofia, wearing the number 10 jersey; the match ended in a 2–2 draw. He scored his first goal for Italy in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup group stage match against Japan, wearing the number 10 shirt; in addition to scoring the match-winning goal, he also helped to win a penalty, which was converted by Mario Balotelli, and thus ensured a 4–3 win, which allowed Italy to progress to the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in their history. In the semi-finals, Giovinco came on during the second half of extra time; the match ended 0–0 and went to penalties as Giovinco netted his penalty for Italy, however, Spain won 7–6 due to Leonardo Bonucci's miss. Italy subsequently won the bronze medal match against Uruguay, also on penalties, after the match had ended 2–2 after extra time. Due to the lack of playing time during the 2013–14 season, Giovinco missed out on the 2014 World Cup and was not named in the provisional nor the final squad.