 Donelli was selected to the United States 1934 FIFA World Cup team.In a 4–2 qualifying victory over Mexico in Rome, Italy on May 24, he tallied all four times, becoming the first American to score his first three international goals with the senior team in the same match (Sacha Kljestan would become the second to achieve this feat on January 24, 2009).Three days later in the same stadium, Donelli scored the lone U.S. goal in its 7–1 first-round elimination loss to Italy.