Chelsea midfielder Jorginho says Italy 's failure to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar will "haunt him for the rest of his life".
The European champions were sensationally knocked out of the tournament by North Macedonia in a qualifying play-off semi-final last Thursday. Aleksandar Trajkovski's superb late strike in Palermo stunned the Italians, who have failed to qualify for two consecutive World Cup finals. Italy haven't won a World Cup knockout game since winning the competition in 2006.
Their only victory at the finals since that triumph was their 2-1 win against England in 2014. Roy Hodgson 's team that day included Joe Hart, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines. Jorginho, the reigning European Player of the Year, could be remembered as one of the greatest players never to feature in a World Cup. He made his Italy debut in 2016 - picking up 43 caps to date - and will be 34 when the next tournament starts in 2026.
