‘Enlightened’ – Arsenal’s Jorginho praised after Italy beat Venezuela | OneFootball

Jorginho silenced his doubters as Italy edged out a 2-1 win over Venezuela, earning widespread praise from the Italian newspapers for his strong performance.

The Italian-Brazilian midfielder was long a key figure in the Azzurri squad under Roberto Mancini, but questions were asked about his future in the national team when Luciano Spalletti took over in September of last year, with some fans believing it was time to bring in fresh blood.

Spalletti left Jorginho at home for the two international breaks in September and October but did start him in the decisive Euro 2024 qualifiers against North Macedonia and Ukraine in November. He was then called up again for the friendlies with Venezuela and Ecuador.

The Arsenal midfielder didn’t start against Venezuela but came on for Italy in the 65th minute, replacing Manuel Locatelli. He quickly made a strong impact, providing the decisive assist for Mateo Retegui’s second goal and completing all but one of his 16 passes across his 25 minutes of action.

Gazzetta dello Sport had high praise for Jorginho, underlining his impact and decisiveness, writing: “The clarity with which we need the ball to make it 2-1 in Retegui is like an enlightened player. He looks for an encore with Zaniolo and it goes badly for him for a short time: decisive entry, our playmaker, if this is the case, is him again.”

Corriere dello Sport suggested that his work looked strong, especially in comparison to Locatelli, writing: “He had many more ideas than his predecessor, as seen on the assist for the 2-1.”

Tuttosport were brief but clear in their review of the Arsenal midfielder, commenting: “Decisive for the 2-1. Ergo, for the victory.”

Gazzetta dello Sport: 7

Tuttosport: 6.5

Corriere dello Sport: 7