Italy CT Giampiero Ventura insists he didn’t call-up Jorginho just so he couldn’t play for Brazil – “he’s doing well”.
The Napoli midfielder finally got the nod from the CT when he named his squad for the World Cup play-off with Sweden.
Jorginho has been capped twice already, but both came in friendlies so he’d still be eligible for Brazil.
However, if he plays in either of the two Sweden games then he’ll only be eligible for the Azzurri.
Italy CT Giampiero Ventura insists he didn’t call-up Jorginho just so he couldn’t play for Brazil – “he’s doing well”.
The Napoli midfielder finally got the nod from the CT when he named his squad for the World Cup play-off with Sweden.
Jorginho has been capped twice already, but both came in friendlies so he’d still be eligible for Brazil.
However, if he plays in either of the two Sweden games then he’ll only be eligible for the Azzurri.
“There’s nothing political, he’s doing well,” Ventura insisted in his Press conference today.
“I’ve said before that he wasn’t called because we were playing with a formation that didn’t suit him.
“Now we face a very important double-header, we’re playing for the World Cup over 72 hours and we have the chance to make choices.
“Then he came to his role at Napoli after a year and a half of work.”
Ventura was asked if he plans to return to 3-5-2 for this match, having received a lot of criticism for his 4-2-4 shape.
“The formation is secondary, it’s about approach and motivation. We’ve been reduced by two injuries, one of which is serious, while luckily [Ciro] Immobile didn’t play yesterday.
“It’s not like 4-2-4 is an obssession, we’ve played with other formations over these years. Without going into numbers and formations, let’s look at the future.
“If there was a period without wingers, we couldn’t play with wingers. If Italian football produces wingers, we’ll play with wingers.
“Sweden aside, you can only work with the materials you have.
“Right now we can’t dream, we just have to prepare for this game calmly and with determination.
“After that I have a dream, which is to get to Coach the lads for 20 days. To make that happen, we have to go to the World Cup.”
The CT also discussed Serie A, and feels there aren’t enough Italians getting playing time with the top clubs.
“Napoli play with, at most, two Italians,” Ventura pointed out.
“Once upon a time they were the foundation, now there are three on a good day. We’re talking about a particular period for Italian football.”