Schiavio was instrumental in Italy's first World Cup win in 1934. Supported by players such as Luis Monti and Giuseppe Meazza, he scored a total of 4 goals, finishing the tournament as the second highest scorer. FIFA originally credited Schiavio as one of three joint top scorers in the tournament (along with Czechoslovakia's Oldřich Nejedlý and Germany's Edmund Conen). However, FIFA revised this in November 2006, giving Nejedlý a fifth goal and the outright leading scorer title. Schiavio opened his account in the tournament with a hat-trick in the opening game against the USA on 27 May, which included Italy's first ever World Cup goal; the match eventually ended in a 7–1 win to the Italians. Despite his prolific display in Italy's opener, he was not able to score in any of the next two games Italy played in order to reach the final.