Jorginho scored two penalties in Chelsea’s win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day, so why has he struggled from the spot for Italy this year?
The 30-year-old Brazilian-Italian is well-known for his distinctive and usually reliable penalty taking technique, using a little skip in his run up to force the goalkeeper to commit to a direction before taking the decisive kick. He has a strong record from the spot, scoring 38 of his 44 attempts from 12 yards.
Yet in the last 12 months, Jorginho has missed two of the most important penalties in his career, both for the Azzurri. These both came in the Azzurri’s 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, and both missed penalties led to draws against Switzerland, forcing Italy to win the playoffs if they want to secure a spot in next year’s World Cup.
Since December 27 2020, the 30-year-old has scored 13 penalties for Chelsea, missing none for the Blues in that time. With the Azzurri, however, he has missed all three taken in this period – one in the Euro 2020 finals against England (which ultimately proved meaningless) and two in the World Cup qualifiers in the last few months, allowing Switzerland to top the qualifying group.
The most recent of these is also the most painful. Had Jorginho netted his penalty in the 90th minute of the match against Switzerland last month, Italy would have qualified for the tournament. Now, they must beat both North Macedonia and the winner of Portugal-Turkey in order to book their spot.
Some suggested that goalkeepers had finally figured out how to counter the skip; Jordan Pickford’s save in the Euro 2020 final seemed to suggest this, with the Englishman staying rooted to the spot until the final moments. He has since worked to increase his speed during the run up, with the penalty scored against Malmö earlier this season an example of this, the skip hardly being noticeable.
The two penalties scored against Aston Villa signpost Jorginho’s changes – the first was scored following a quicker run and skip, whilst the second saw Emiliano Martinez wait like Pickford did, although the well-placed shot still beat the Argentinian shot stopper.
There’s a chance that the pressure of the occasion makes a difference for Jorginho, a normal element of any penalty. This suggestion is a little harder to justify, however, considering his experience and the fact that the missed penalty against Switzerland back in September was significantly less important (at the time) than the other miss against Murat Yakin’s side.
Jorginho will have to iron out his issues from the spot with Italy ahead of their decisive 2022 World Cup playoffs in the new year, as any missed penalties now could prove truly disastrous for the Azzurri.
could it be that
international goalkeepers are better than the majority of club goalkeepers
The problem is Mancini continues to trust someone who needs to skip like a fairy to take a shot. Put the ball in any corner with power, end of story.
He’s missed two penalties which – in all likelihood – will cost Italy qualification for the 2022 WC. And it’s a miracle that his missed penalty didn’t also cost Italy victory in the final of the Euros. He should never take another penalty for his (adopted) country.
i dont care if he scores 100 pks for Chelsea … Please Mancini dont let him take anymore for Country.
3 consecutive crucial misses are enough…specially when the 3rd one wasn’t even on frame
(lofts over crossbar).
Just a small point of correction FI – Jorginho has taken 4 penalties for the Azzurri this year, not 3. He scored the first against Spain at the Euros.
It really doesn’t matter; he should never take PK for Italy again. Never!
he missed 3 importent the one against england
@Gman call Mancini and tell him your available for penalties should the need arise. In fact just replace Jorghino on the pitch. With your great technique and vision you will split defences apart.