4–1 home win over Al-Qadsiah. On 23 April, he scored his first AFC Champions League goal, the only goal in a 1–0 home win over Esteghlal. He is one of very few players to have now scored in three different club continental competitions in his career (UEFA Champions League, CONCACAF Champions League, and AFC Champions League). On 17 September, he scored in a 3–1 home win over Al-Ittihad, which enabled Al Hilal to progress to the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League. On 1 October, in the first leg of the semi-finals of the competition, he assisted Ali Al-Bulaihi's goal in a 4–1 away win over Al Sadd. In the second leg, on 22 October, he set up Bafétimbi Gomis's goal in a 4–2 home defeat, which saw Al Hilal advance to the final of the competition 6–5 on aggregate. In the second leg of the 2019 AFC Champions League Final on 24 November, Giovinco assisted Salem Al-Dawsari's opening goal in an eventual 2–0 away win over Urawa Red Diamonds, which saw Al Hilal win the title with a 3–0 aggregate victory; the title also allowed the team to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. Giovinco started in the FIFA Club World Cup third-place play-off against Monterrey on 21 December; following a 2–2 draw after regulation time, he scored Al Hilal's second spot kick in the resulting shoot-out, although the former side ultimately won the match 4–3 on penalties. Sampdoria 2022 season: Return to Serie A In January 2022, Giovinco joined the training camp for former club Toronto FC. However, on 8 February 2022, Giovinco signed with Sampdoria, a short-term contract until the end of June, as a replacement for the injured Manolo Gabbiadini. International career Youth career Giovinco has represented Italy at every youth level from the under-16 level onwards. He was called up to Italy under-21 by head coach Pierluigi Casiraghi to make his U-21 debut in the 2009 European Championship opening qualifier on 1 June 2007 and helped in their 4–0 defeat of Albania. He also played at the 2008 Toulon Tournament, where he appeared in all five matches, and was voted the most valuable player of the competition, scoring two goals in the opening game against the Ivory Coast, and netting the winning penalty in the semi-final shoot-out against Japan. Italy ultimately won the competition, defeating Chile 1–0 in the final. That summer, he