Jorginho could do little to help Italy avoid falling to a 1-0 defeat against Spain in a Euro 2024 clash on Thursday evening.
Jorginho was named in the Italy starting XI to take on Spain on Thursday.
The veteran Arsenal midfielder is a key player for his country, and will be leaned upon by manager Luciano Spalletti to bring composure and control to the middle of the park.
The 32-year-old is highly thought of at Arsenal. Mikel Arteta has great faith in the former Chelsea man, who played a vital role for the Gunners last season, as he developed an effective partnership with Declan Rice.
Arteta has previously described Jorginho as the most intelligent player he has ever worked with, and his football IQ is often evident on the pitch. At the Emirates Stadium he is regularly able to dictate the pace of matches, and helps the Gunners to build up their attacks.
Italy opened their Euros campaign with a win over Albania. Arsenal fans were impressed with the display that Jorginho produced in that match, and many will have expected him to exert a similar influence over the clash with Spain.
However, as it played out, Italy were the inferior side from the start, and Jorginho was far from his best.
What did the media make of Arsenal star Jorginho as Italy lost to Spain at Euro 2024?
Jorginho could not cope with the pace of the game, or the craft and guile exemplified by the Spanish midfield contingent.
The Independent awarded the Arsenal man a 4/10 rating for this performance, noting that he was: “Totally overrun in midfield. Didn’t have the agility to keep up with Spain’s play and subbed at half time.”
Footballl Italia were similarly unimpressed with his display, rating his showing at 5/10 and stating that he: “Couldn’t play tidily due to Spain’s ferocious pressing and was often forced inside the box, so Cristante came in during the break.”
Goal were savage in their review of Jorginho’s performance. Deeming his showing as worthy of just a 2/10 rating, and claiming that the midfielder: “Dictated the pace of the game against Albania but absolutely atrocious here against top-class opponents. Rightly subbed after a shocking first-half display in which he repeatedly gave the ball away.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail were slightly more sympathetic, scoring him a 6/10 and adding: “Hooked at half-time. It was tough going for the Arsenal man in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch as Spain dominated in midfield through the brilliance of Fabian Ruiz, Rodri and Pedri. Played his part at making sure Italy were disciplined enough to remain at 0-0 at the break.”
All in all, it was a performance and result that Jorginho will be keen to forget. Whilst he is in the twilight years of his career, Arsenal fans who saw him regularly impress in the Premier League last season will be well aware that he remains capable of offering far more than he managed against Spain last night.
Arsenal winners and losers at Euro 2024
In this week’s episode, Will Jones and Rahul Lakhani discussed the first few days of the European Championships. With Arsenal players such as Kai Havertz and Kieran Tierney experiencing mixed starts to the tournament, the pair assessed which Gunners were the winners and losers from the group stages so far.
There was some talk about transfers based off the Euros, with Arsenal-linked Amadou Onana’s display for Belgium discussed, whilst Leandro Trossard’s poor performance was analysed, and Bukayo Saka’s sensational England showing lauded.