#8 Italy
Four-time world champions Italy, who are famed for their defensive style of play, have produced some clinical strikers in their footballing history.
Giuseppe Meazza was one of the best strikers during the 30s and 40s. His goal-scoring prowess helped Italy win the World Cup in 1934. The Italians had quality strikers in Luigi Riva and Silvio Piola, who were considered the best forwards of their generation.
Italy won the 1982 World Cup on the back of some stunning goals by ace forward Paolo Rossi.
The 90s saw a Golden period in Italian football as they produced a plethora of strikers. Salvatore Schillaci won the Golden Shoe in the 1990 World Cup with his 6 goals and the 'Divine Ponytail' Roberto Baggio got a bagful of goals in the 1994 World Cup. At the turn of the century, Christian Vieri, Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero were the prolific goal scorers for the ‘Azzurri’ at major tournaments.
In recent years, Italy have had Luca Toni, Alberto Gilardino, Antonio Di Natale, Antonio Cassano and Lorenzo Insigne who have scored goals for the national team at major competitions.
Leading Goal Scorers for Italy
Luigi Riva 35
Giuseppe Meazza 33
Silvio Piola 30
Roberto Baggio 27
Alessandro Del Piero 27
Adolfo Baloncieri 25
Filippo Inzaghi 25
Alessandro Altobelli 25
Christian Vieri 23
Francesco Graziani 23
