Italy Coach Mancini Defend Chelsea Star Jorginho Over Penalty Miss Against Switzerland

Italy CT Roberto Mancini stressed Jorginho was ‘right’ to take the penalty and admitted the Azzurri ‘suffered and struggled’ against Switzerland on Friday.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw, as Silvan Widmer opened the scoring for the guests, before Giovanni Di Lorenzo equalised before half-time.

But after the break, Italy were closest to scoring when Jorginho stepped up to take a penalty in stoppages.

But the Brazilian-born midfielder smashed it over the bar and the two teams ended up sharing the spoils in Rome.

“We missed a penalty in the first leg and one in the return, these things happen,” Mancini said in the post-match interview with RAI Sport.

“Jorginho felt like kicking it and it’s right that he did. He is one of the penalty takers in the team.”

Mancini admitted Switzerland made life difficult for the Azzurri on Friday but felt the players reacted well.

“In the first half we suffered and struggled,” he said. “Then we came out well but missed the winning goal.”

Next up for the Azzurri is the crucial clash with Northern Ireland and Mancini’s men are currently ahead of the Swiss on goal difference.

“Against Northern Ireland we start with an advantage, and that’s not a small one,” Mancini added. “If we play well and score the goals we didn’t score today…

“It was a difficult game and we were conditioned by the goal conceded, it’s a shame that we didn’t score in the second half.”

Source: football-italia