Gianluca Scamacca is often called a young Zlatan Ibrahimović, to whom he is frequently compared.
A comparison of their technical qualities can be made too. Like Ibrahimović, especially when he was younger, Scamacca is capable of being a nuisance to defenders from anywhere in the final third.
He is willing to hit the channels and run wide, play a target man role to hold the ball up for others, drop into attacking midfield to combine, or sit on the shoulder of the last man and wait to burst through for an opportunity on goal.
He has proven himself to be an effective decision-maker with his back to goal, not only looking to help his team retain possession but also seeking out avenues that will help drive his team towards the penalty box.
This is all underpinned by an under-rated ability to manoeuvre himself with the ball in tight spaces between a crowd of defenders.
Despite possessing the physical qualities of a traditional target man, Scamacca’s creativity has been a feature of his game.
Scamacca demonstrates decent variety in these actions too: through balls, little flicks in the penalty area, balls headed across goal, and crosses. This influence in multiple phases of play is a key indicator of Scamacca’s portability into a high-level team and will be key to his success further up the food chain.
There is of course a lot of the conventional: headers, latching onto through balls, and the like. But it is uncanny how many volleys, long shots and screamers Scamacca scores, especially for someone his size – an ability which enhances the Zlatan likeness. He has wonderful technique which helped him score 16 goals in Serie A last season.
In 2018, he made his debut with the Italy U21 team in a friendly match lost 3–2 against Portugal.
With the Italy U19 he took part in the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, and scored two goals in the tournament, including one in the 4–3 final loss against Portugal after extra time. The following year he took part in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup with the Italy U20 squad, reaching the fourth place.
He scored his first goal with the Italy U21 team on 6 September 2019, in a friendly match won 4–0 against Moldova.
He received his first call up to the senior Italy squad for the team’s 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September 2021. He made his senior debut on 8 September, in a 5–0 home win over Lithuania, coming on as a second–half substitute for Federico Bernardeschi.