At international level, he played for the Italy national team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where they reached the final.

He was initially selected by Arrigo Sacchi as the successor of the former first-choice keeper Walter Zenga,[4] but lost his place after a mediocre performance in a 2–2 draw against Switzerland during the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification:[5] he conceded the first goal, scored by Christophe Ohrel, after failing to catch a cross, an unusual mistake for him, and then poorly controlled a back-pass with his feet, enabling the opposing striker Stéphane Chapuisat to score for the second time.

[6] At the 1994 FIFA World Cup he was selected as Italy's second-choice keeper behind Gianluca Pagliuca, who was more skilled with the ball at his feet,[7] but still managed to play three matches:[8] his first appearance was as a substitute against Norway, following the sending off of Pagliuca, coming on for Roberto Baggio, and helping the 10-man Italian squad to keep a clean sheet and win the match 1–0; he also appeared in the final group match against Mexico (a 1–1 draw), and in the 2–1 extra-time victory over Nigeria in the round of 16.

[9] Despite Marchegiani's excellent performances, which led some pundits to advocate his confirmation, Pagliuca recovered the starting spot after his two-game suspension,[10] and played the remaining games.

[18][19][20][21] Although he was not particularly adept or confident with the ball at his feet following the establishment of the back-pass rule,[5] and did not have a particularly powerful or deep goal kick, he possessed excellent vision,[18] and later worked to improve this aspect of his game throughout his career.