[7] Combi was born in Turin on 20 November 1902 and played for Juventus' youth side; he debuted in the Italian Serie A on 5 February 1922 in a match against Milan.

[2] He returned in Azzurro a year and seven games later when the technical commission, made up of Rangone, Giuseppe Milano and Baccani selected him to play against France in Turin on 22 March 1925.

On his debut Ceresoli had helped the national team to qualify for the 1934 FIFA World Cup which was held in Italy that summer, by eliminating Greece in Milan by a 4–0 win.

This forced him to miss the World Cup and Combi again found himself the top goalkeeper in Italy, with the responsibility of leading the Azzurri to their debut in football's premier competition.

The Azzurri beat their opponents 7–1,[15] a victory provided by a hat trick from Angelo Schiavio, a double from Raimundo Orsi and a goal each from Giovanni Ferrari and Meazza.

The match was played in Milan's Stadio Calcistico San Siro on 3 June and the Azzurri won 1–0 with a goal by Enrico Guaita.

With the help of a noisy support, so great that the rival coach Pozzo had to continually run along the pitch so that the players could hear his instructions, Italy won the match through a goal by Schiavio and the Italian team were crowned World Champions.

Gianpiero Combi, who played 510 minutes and conceded three goals as captain of the squad, received the Jules Rimet trophy from the Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini.

In 1951 the Italian Football Federation offered him the job of technical commissioner for the Italy national team with Carlino Beretta and Toni Busini.

Despite his relatively small stature for a player in his position, Combi was a commanding keeper, who possessed notable strength, which he combined with his elegance, agility, intelligence, shot-stopping ability, positional sense, and excellent technique; throughout his career, he stood out in particular due to his consistency, efficient goalkeeping style, and composure, rather than flamboyance, even though he was capable of producing spectacular diving saves when necessary.