Gino Pariani

His success at the club level led to Pariani's selection to the U.S. soccer team at the 1948 Summer Olympics. The U.S. lost 9–0 to Italy in the first round of this single elimination tournament. Pariani did not play in this loss.^[2]

Pariani gained his first caps with the U.S. national team in an 11–0 loss to Norway on August 6, 1948. His second cap came five days later in a loss to Northern Ireland. He did not play again with the full national team until the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The invitation into the team came unexpectedly and Pariani had scheduled his wedding during the finals. With the support of both families, he and his fiancé moved up the day to allow him to play in Brazil.^[3] When he left St. Louis for New York, he had been married for only three days. He went on to score the lone U.S. goal in the team's first game of the finals, a 3–1 loss to Spain. Four days later, he was a key part of the U.S. victory over England, maintaining good ball possession. He also sent Frank Wallace on a break towards the English goal, a break stopped by Alf Ramsey. The U.S. ultimately won the game, one of the greatest upsets of World Cup history. Pariani's last cap came in a 5–2 loss to Chile which put the U.S. out of the cup.^[4]

In January 2004, Pariani and the four other living members of the 1950 World Cup Team (Walter Bahr, Frank Borghi, Harry Keough and John Souza) were recognized as Honorary All-Americas by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America at its annual convention in Charlotte, N.C.

In 1976, he was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.^[5]

Pariani died of bone cancer in St. Louis, Missouri on May 9, 2007.^[6] He is buried in Resurrection Cemetery in Affton, Missouri.

• National Soccer Hall of Fame profile
• Photos of Pariani in 2004
• Cirino, Antonio (Tony) - US Soccer Vs The World, 1983 - ISBN 0-910641-00-5