Italy vs North Macedonia: 'It hurts so much,' says Azzurri midfielder Jorginho after missing out on World Cup

Jorginho missed two crucial penalties against Switzerland in the group phase and that cost Italy and he knows the weight of this failure will be on his shoulders.

Italy midfielder Jorginho; Credit: Twitter/@FabrizioRomano
By Sreejith C R | Mar 25, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup after losing 1-0 to North Macedonia in the play-off on Thursday. Midfielder Jorginho says “it hurts so much” after not qualifying for the prestigious event for a second time in a row. Aleksandar Trakjowski struck the winner in stoppages to take North Macedonia through to the final of the play-off where they will face Portugal for a place in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

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“It is difficult to explain what happened,” Jorginho told RAI Sport through tears.

Roberto Mancini’s side created 32 chances and registered five shots on target but failed to find the breakthrough while the visitors managed to find the back of the net from only the four opportunities they created.

“It hurts so much. I’ll be honest, I am still incredulous. I don’t think we lacked creativity, as we always dominated matches and created so many chances. Unfortunately, we were unable to finish them off.”

Italy produced a very dominant performance to lift the Euro 2020 title, and then surprisingly went on to  finish runner-up to Switzerland in the World Cup qualifying group, which forced them to play the play-offs. 

“We played good football, we won the European Championship last summer, but unfortunately in the last few games we made small errors and were unable to recover from them. They made the difference.”

Jorginho missed two crucial penalties against Switzerland in the group phase and that cost Italy. If those spot-kicks were converted things would have been different. The Chelsea player knows full well the weight of this failure will be on his shoulders.

“It hurts when I think about it, because I do still think about it and it will haunt me for the rest of my life. Stepping up there twice and not being able to help your team and your country is something that I will carry with me forever, and it weighs on me. People say we need to lift our heads and carry on, but it’s tough.”

The Azzurri dominated the proceedings throughout the 90 minutes, creating more than 30 chances but the visitors managed to soak all the pressure and score the winner against the run of play in the stoppages. Italy won the European Championship, yet failed to qualify for the second consecutive World Cup.





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