Federico Chiesa came to the rescue of Jorginho during Italy’s Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia.
Chiesa scored a stunning goal just 71 seconds after the midfielder missed yet another penalty for his national team.
Jorginho who is now plagued by penalty struggles, faced North Macedonia’s goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, who expertly denied the Arsenal midfielder’s attempt.
The miss marked Jorginho’s second consecutive penalty woes, having previously missed against Switzerland in the 2022 World Cup qualification.
However, Italy quickly rebounded from the penalty miss. Chiesa seized the opportunity, smashing home a remarkable goal from the edge of the box, securing Italy’s two-goal lead.
Matteo Darmian and Chiesa, again, had earlier given Italy the advantage in the first half.
Despite a comeback attempt by North Macedonia’s Jani Atanasov with a brace, Italy maintained control. Late goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Stephan El Shaarawy secured a convincing 5-2 victory.
The defeat dashed North Macedonia’s hopes of automatic qualification for Euro 2024. Italy, on the other hand, now sits in a favourable position ahead of their decisive final qualifier against Ukraine.
With both teams tied at 13 points, Italy’s superior head-to-head record gives them an edge. A draw in their upcoming match will secure Italy’s qualification, making it a winner-takes-all showdown in Leverkusen.
However, the question now arises whether Jorginho will be entrusted with future penalties after his recent struggles.