West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca divides opinion in Italy, with Azzurri legends Beppe Bergomi and Christian Vieri having different views on his contribution to the national team.

The Italy international wasn’t a starter in any of the last two matches against England and Malta that saw newcomer Mateo Retegui get the nod up front, scoring in both Euro 2024 qualifying fixtures.

Scamacca joined West Ham from Sassuolo last summer and had a promising impact in London but slipped down the pecking order after sustaining a tricky knee injury in January.

The 24-year-old has only made five appearances with the Hammers in 2023, scoring two goals, including one against Wilfried Gnonto’s Leeds United, immediately after the World Cup break.

Many thought that following Ciro Immobile’s injury, he would have become the starter for Italy, at least during the international break in March. However, Scamacca was only introduced from the bench against England and Malta, combining 26 minutes across the two matches.

The former Sassuolo striker still isn’t fully fit, as Mancini admitted during a press conference attended by Football Italia last week: “Scamacca can’t play for 90 minutes. He played 65 minutes on Thursday and this was it,” said the Azzurri CT who has not hidden frustration for his lack of options in attack.

Although Mancini is happy with Retegui’s contribution to Italy so far, Scamacca’s omissions from the starting XI have been a matter of debate in the Peninsula during the international break.

“Retegui scored a goal [against Malta] and this is good, however, considering his performance, I have to suspend the judgment. I believe Scamacca moves differently and in a better way,” said Italy’s 1982 World Cup winner Beppe Bergomi on Sunday night.

His ex-teammate Vieri has a different view and believes Mancini was right to give a chance to Retegui, leaving Scamacca on the bench in the last two games.

“He [Scamacca] is far behind; I thought he’d get regular playing time at West Ham. He must show something more and score more goals,” said the ex-striker on Wednesday in an interview with Il Corriere della Sera.

Many see Scamacca as Immobile’s heir for the Azzurri and Italy’s leading forward for the next decade. However, to change his status with the national team, he’ll have to get regular playing time for his club, targeting a starting spot for Italy’s next match, the Nations League semi-finals against Spain on June 15.

Scamacca made his senior Italy debut in September 2021 but hasn’t yet found the net in 11 appearances with La Nazionale.

One thought on “West Ham striker Scamacca divides opinion in Italy”
  1. Scam’acca had enough opportunities to hit the net with a routine strike and fails every time. Aside from one week bicycle kick, he followed up by botching what should have been three routine strikes on net. Retegui had two opportunities for strikes on net and scored both. Simple converts is what this team needs and has been lacking for a long time. If scam’acca wants the position he better convert some simple chances or simply watch from the bench.

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