5 most important goals scored by substitutes at the FIFA World Cup

#2. Gianni Rivera, Italy vs West Germany, 1970

Rivera's goal helped Italy beat West Germany in a thrilling semi-final at the 1970 World Cup

Gianni Rivera is one of the all-time greats for Italy and AC Milan. Rivera, who won the Ballon d’Or in 1969, was at the peak of his career during the 1970 World Cup. However, Rivera played only 45 minutes during the first round, as manager Ferucio Valcarreggi preferred Inter’s Sandro Mazzola.

Rivera was also benched during the quarter-final against Mexico, but he did replace Mazzola in the second half before scoring a goal. Rivera also set up both of Luigi Riva’s goals in an eventual 4-1 win. However, Rivera’s best show of the tournament would come in the semi-final against West Germany, which is widely regarded to be the Match of the Century.

Rivera, who had just recovered from stomach-flu, came on in the second half and the score was 1-1 at full-time. During extra-time, Gerd Muller gave West Germany the lead in the 94th minute. However, Rivera’s long passes led to goals from Tarcisio Burgnich and Luigi Riva, giving the Azzurri a 3-2 lead. Muller scored his second goal of the game to equalise.

Moments after Muller’s goal, Rivera initiated an attack from the kick-off and eventually scored to give Italy a 4-3 lead. Italy defended well and won the match.