Jorginho: "Ballon d'Or nomination 'incredible'"
Jorginho, Italy midfielder:
(About being nominated for the 2021 Ballon d'Or)
"It is incredible. It's hard to find the words to explain what I'm feeling. It is something that felt so far away when I started playing and today feels so near, even just this (to be nominated) is so beautiful for me."
(About Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois calling the UEFA Nations League third-place match "pointless")
"I'm not offended by what he said, honestly. What's way more important is how we approach the match. His approach or Belgium's approach does not interest us very much. I am much more interested in how motivated my own team is for tomorrow's match."
(About the match against Belgium following Italy's 2-1 defeat to Spain in Nations League semi-finals on Wednesday)
"We have just lost, so we are hungry for winning again, because our mentality here is winning and we just lost a game after 37 matches (undefeated). So for me I see it as an opportunity for us as a group, as a team to improve and to gain towards winning again."