Gianluca Scamacca said Thursday that he wants to make history with Italy as the in-form striker prepares for his major tournament debut against Albania in Euro 2024.
Atalanta forward Scamacca is set to lead the line for the Azzurri’s first Group B match of their European Championship title defence on Saturday after his red-hot club form earned him a spot in the squad.
“We’re a young group in a new cycle. It took some time to get to our best but I think we’re ready. I’m ready, I want to help the team to go as far as we can,” Scamacca told reporters at Italy’s training camp.
“I would like to emulate the 2020 team who won the Euros and the 2006 team which won the World Cup.
“Those teams are the example I want to follow because they made history and personally I want to make history with the national team.”
Scamacca is one of a host of fresh faces playing for Italy in Germany as coach Luciano Spalletti has definitively broken from the team which won the last Euros three years ago.
The 25-year-old impressed in Sunday’s pre-tournament win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, his first appearance for Italy since being dropped by Spalletti for matches with Venezuela and Ecuador in the United States in March.
Spalletti had railed against footballers “playing on the PlayStation until four in the morning”, a comment widely interpreted as being directed at Scamacca who has since reconquered the faith of the coach following a thrilling end to the season.
Scamacca has excelled since the start of March, netting 12 goals and setting up four more for Atalanta who won the Europa League for another attack-minded manager in Gian Piero Gasperini.
“I’m comfortable with both ways of playing because he (Spalletti) has ideas which work perfectly for me. It’s an attacking style, there’s lots of possession,” added Scamacca
“In the last few months I have been well physically, I’ve started to play with more consistency and you can see the results.”
After Saturday’s opener in Dortmund Italy face Spain and then Croatia in Group B.
