The Sassuolo striker’s brilliant goals against Milan and Napoli this week have bolstered his case to be the national team’s No 9
![Gianluca Scamacca shaping up to realise his Italy World Cup vision | Nicky Bandini](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/0b4b83342bf6f5a05844d166f082bb9b916fa52d/0_99_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=cb82b9f04d798f8ef2aac566cd217d25)
Gianluca Scamacca had a vision for how he wanted this season to play out. Asked in August whether he could earn a role for
Italy at next year’s
World Cup, the Sassuolo striker demurred, reminding the interviewer from Gazzetta dello Sport that he was still in the under-21s.
“One step at a time,” said Scamacca. “But if I manage to play out the season that I have in my mind, the opportunity will arrive.”