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Former Italy international Beppe Bergomi has urged Arsenal midfielder Jorginho to stop taking penalties after his miss from the spot on Friday (November 18).
In a key UEFA Euro 2024 clash at the Stadio Olimpico Tour in Rome, reigning champions Italy took a huge step towards next year's Germany finals with a 5-2 win over North Macedonia.
The Azzurri led 3-0 at the break in the Italian capital, thanks to a Matteo Darmian opener and a Federico Chiesa brace. The miss from Jorginho came in the 40th minute when the Azzurri led 1-0. His weak spot-kick was easily thwarted by Macedonia custodian Stole Dimitrievski, who dived the right way.
Since the Euro 2020 final win over England on penalties, Jorginho has missed his last three spot-kicks. Two of them were saved by Jann Sommer of Switzerland, which proved to be costly, as the two games ended in draws. Italy finished second in their FIFA World Cup 2022 group to miss out on their second straight World Cup.
Bergomi, a 1982 World Cup winner, said that Jorginho's penalty technique is now dated and that the Arsenal midfielder should give his spot-kick duties to someone else. Bergomi told Sky Sport Italia (as per talkSPORT)
“With all due respect, Jorginho has to bow down to the evidence here and admit penalties are no longer for him. That style of taking spot-kicks just does not work anymore, and today we got confirmation beyond doubt.
“We can appreciate his character and mental strength in going up there again, but I’d say now enough is enough. He has to go to the coach and say let someone else take the next one.”
Meanwhile, following their convincing win, Italy moved to second in qualifying Group C, with 13 points from seven games. A draw against Ukraine - who are behind on goal difference - on Monday will seal their place in Germany next summer.
How has Arsenal midfielder Jorginho fared with Italy?
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho has a decent record with Italy, bagging five goals and two assists in 49 games. All of those goals have come in competitive clashes: two in the UEFA Nations League and three in UEFA Euro qualifying.
Jorginho made his Azzurri debut in a 1-1 friendly draw at home to Spain in 2016. His first competitive outing for them came in a goalless home draw with Sweden in the 2018 FIFA World Cup playoffs, which knocked the Azzurri.
The Arsenal man's crowning glory with Italy came at Euro 2020 two years ago, where the Azzurri capped off a memorable campaign with a shootout win over hosts England at the Wembley.
