Jorginho opens up on why Italy missed the World Cup | OneFootball

Jorginho gave an interview to the English newspaper ‘The Times’

Italy missed out on a third straight World Cup and became the center of worldwide embarrassment after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoffs. Jorginho, a midfielder for Flamengo who represented Italy, said that the period of overconfidence after Euro 2021 was crucial to the team’s downfall in the following years.

— It’s a fine line, because you can also become too confident. When that happens, you go down the wrong path. I believe that, in that year, after we won… before the title, we were more humble. That’s how I feel. And I include myself in that. We worked hard, ran, ran and ran —, Jorginho began.

— In the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, in our heads, we were doing everything right. We were controlling the games, but I think we were a little too confident — concluded the Flamengo midfielder, in an interview with the English newspaper ‘The Times’.

WHAT IS THE CONTEXT OF THE SITUATION?

After missing out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Italy found itself again at Euro 2021. The team, led by Jorginho, won the title against England on penalties at Wembley Stadium in London, on English soil.

However, Italy’s rebuilding process stopped there. That is because the team once again went into the World Cup qualifying playoffs. This time, though, the embarrassment was even worse: they lost to North Macedonia and missed out on a second straight World Cup.

AND AFTER THAT?

Italy kept piling up humiliations. At Euro 2024, the team was knocked out in the round of 16 by Switzerland, losing 2-0. Finally, in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, it had to play in the playoffs again, but lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.