Jorginho’s position in the Azzurri squad is the subject of fierce debate following the World Cup play-off disaster against North Macedonia.
The 30-year-old Italian-Brazilian missed two penalties for the Azzurri in World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland last autumn, something that ultimately proved costly as both games ended in a draw, allowing the Swiss to finish top of the qualifying group. The second penalty miss in particular was especially egregious as it came in the 90th minute of the penultimate group game.
Jorginho did not have a strong impact in the Azzurri’s 1-0 loss to North Macedonia yesterday, leading to many accusations that he simply retains possession without contributing in a significant fashion. His last assist for Italy came in a 4-0 friendly win over the Czech Republic ahead of Euro 2020.
The Chelsea midfielder plays an underappreciated role in Roberto Mancini’s 4-3-3 and cutting him as a result of two missed penalties and some poor form seems like an unfair decision at this stage. He is still a vital part of controlling possession and dictating tempo, and his strong understanding with Marco Verratti is still worth exploiting.
It’s obvious that Italy need to make some changes following their World Cup play-off defeat and they have some time to carry out this overhaul, with the next major tournament still two years away. Whether those changes involve cutting Jorginho from the national team or not are still unclear, and ultimately are for Mancini to decide.
I don’t think we need both Jorghinio and Verratti playing together. Verratti can dictate play as well as him, and is much better defensively
Apollo, you’re out to lunch if you think this loser still deserves to play for Italy.. He’s GARBAGE. Frattesi, Sensi, Veratti, Pellegrini and Barella should be the guarantee options. Not that Brazilian reject. SMH
1 question … why do none of my comments not ever get posted ? is it the mod, the site ? what gives i say nothing wrong or derogatory
Jorginho is a fantastic player and been a great servant to Italian football. However after 2 straight penalty misses against England in Euro 2020 and Switzerland in WC qualifying 1st match, surely he should have let someone else take the injury time penalty against the Switzerland in the second match. It was a a poor decision, perhaps Manicini should have taken leadership and asked him to take a break from penalty duties to regain confidence and let someone else take that important penalty. I am not sure whose decision it was in the end but It was irresponsible, and selfish decision for Jorginho to take that important penalty while he was low in confidence . The poor decision making then has cost them a place in the world cup. This is a team sport and he should have stepped aside for the betterment of the team.
@Carletto
Don’t be ridiculous lol. Jorginho plays at a higher level than any of those players you mentioned.
Sensi is decen’t, but has hardly kicked a ball for years. Frattesi has proved nothing. Verratti is the best, but plays in a weak league too. Barella has been out of form for months.
I cant help think of biased refereeing which nearly always hampers and happens when Italy plays.
The other thing that crosses my mind is the karmic revenge of the Chiellini shirt pull against the UK.
Many of us are mortified that Italy now has not had a world cup for 12 years by the time the next one
is around.
The striker of the team should always be taking the penalties for many reasons. Certainly not a midfielder who doesn’t have a penchant for scoring in open play. If there is a reason the striker doesn’t then he was never qualified to be on the team in the 1st place and probably explains why Immobile was not scoring for the NT. Its also to early to discuss who should continue or not. This should be an opportunity for Mancini to rebuild the team meaning all positions should be re-evaluated and decisions based on merit only.
No, he should not quit the Azzurri, but he should not be a guaranteed starter either.
Too many players – Jorginho, Barella, Immobile, Insigne etc have been locked down as starers irrespective of their form or fitness. Managing a team in this fashion is counter productive. it makes no sense and will ultimately come back to bite you.
I don’t blame the players because they are being put in a position to fail. The coach sends these players the wrong message, that mediocrity is acceptable. It also sends a terrible message to the players who deserve to be in the side on merit, that no matter how well they play and how poor the first choice players perform, they won’t be given a chance.