Jorginho explains how felt when taking penalty against Spain

Jorginho reveals how he felt when taking the decisive Italy penalty to eliminate Spain and reach the UEFA EURO 2020 Final. ‘I took a deep breath.’

The Azzurri had taken the lead through Federico Chiesa, cancelled out by substitute Alvaro Morata for a 1-1 draw, so the semi-final went to extra time and then penalties.

“It was a struggle against a great team that made us run so hard, we knew we’d have to suffer, but we believed to the end and in my view deserved to win,” Jorginho told Sky Sport Italia.

The Chelsea midfielder is famously almost infallible from the penalty spot, so naturally he was ice cool for the final kick in this shoot-out.

He stepped up and calmly passed it into the corner with very little power, having sent Unai Simon the wrong way.

“When you take the kick, you feel this weight fall off your shoulders! I tried to forget everything around me, focus on what I’d trained to do, took a deep breath and got on with it,” explained the midfielder.

The Azzurri now go through to the Final on Sunday, where they will face either England or Denmark.

Jorginho outlined the strengths that have taken Italy this far, a side that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and have been completely transformed under Roberto Mancini.

“Italy never give up, we always believe. This is a marvellous squad that deserves all the best, because we suffer together, we play together, laugh together, joke together and like all families can argue together at times, but we always end up there together.”