Arsenal midfielder Jorginho was in international action on Friday night as Italy ran out 5-2 winners over North Macedonia.
The Gunners man delivered a decent performance in the Euro 2024 qualifier, but on the flip side, he missed his third consecutive penalty for Italy.
In the 40th minute of the match, Nikola Serafimov’s handball led to the referee awarding the Azzurri a spot kick.
Jorginho immediately took the ball, hoping to make amends after his two poor penalties cost Italy 2022 World Cup qualification.
However, his traditional hop and skip was followed by a low-power effort that was easily saved by Stole Dimitrievski.
Luckily for the Arsenal midfielder, Federico Chiesa went on to score a minute later to spare Jorginho’s blushes before adding another goal in first-half injury time.
Italy, who had opened the scoring through Matteo Darmian, were then pegged back to 3-2 through a Jani Atanasov brace.
However, the Azzurri weren’t going to suffer another poor result to the North Macedonians. Giacomo Raspadori and Stephan El Shaarawy restored the Italians’ three-goal lead come full time.
‘A curse from the spot’
Sport Mediaset issued a scathing criticism of Jorginho, saying he was “tragicomic from the spot”.
Awarding the £110,000-a-week Gunner a 5.5 out of 10, they wrote: “Third missed penalty in a row against Italy in what is now a curse from the spot.
“The way he makes mistakes – with a leap and a very slow shot – ruins a high-level match in the control room with or without the ball at his feet.”
Likewise, Eurosport Italia went with a 5.5 out of 10 rating for the Gunners midfielder.
“Obviously a missed penalty isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to judging a player,” they wrote.
“But at the same time, even in the context of a positive performance, the mistake from the spot cannot be overshadowed.”
Sky Italia was less critical, giving the Arsenal man a 6 out of 10 for his efforts on the night.
“His midfield play is full of good ideas,” they wrote. “And if the rhythm is there, it’s thanks to the timing of the Italian Brazilian.
“He takes and fails his penalty – for the third consecutive time in blue – after falling for the goalkeeper’s feint.
“A knockout blow, but Jorginho was spared his blushes thanks to Chiesa’s goal 30 seconds later.”
Jorginho a star for Arsenal and Italy
You have to feel for Jorginho. He really wanted redemption from the penalty spot, but sadly it wasn’t to be. Luckily it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
Obviously it’s not all about penalties. The Arsenal ace is a superb talent in midfield for club and country, but it’ll still be a bitter pill to swallow.
On the plus side, Italy are just one point away from Euro 2024 qualification. Up next for the Euro 2020 champions is Monday night’s meeting with Ukraine in Leverkusen.