Volpato abandons Italy dream and joins Australia to play FIFA World Cup

When Australia coach Tony Popovic contacted Cristian Volpato earlier this year about representing the Socceroos at the FIFA World Cup, the midfielder’s response was straightforward — he wanted to “wait for Italy”. Just months later, however, the 22-year-old has changed course and is now set to join Australia’s training camp in Los Angeles after deciding to switch teams. 

Volpato, an attacking midfielder for Serie A side Sassuolo, holds dual citizenship of Italy and Australia. Born and raised in Sydney, he represented Italy at youth level and had long hoped to break into the senior national team.

The midfielder had also turned down an opportunity to represent Australia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, believing his future lay with the Azzurri.

However, he did not receive a call-up to the Italian national side for their World Cup qualifying matches. Moreover, Italy’s failure to qualify for the upcoming World Cup appears to have altered his plans. The four-time champions missed out on football’s biggest stage for a third consecutive tournament after suffering a playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Football Australia confirmed that it had received a release letter from the Italian football federation and had submitted the required paperwork to FIFA to complete Volpato’s change of association. “Once cleared, Volpato will be eligible to officially represent the Socceroos,” the governing body said in a statement.

Volpato began his career in the youth systems of Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers before moving to Italy. Volpato has represented Italy's junior national teams since 2022 and also made his first appearance for the Italian U19s. He made his senior debut for A S Roma under José Mourinho during the 2021-22 season and went on to make 14 appearances for the club, registering two goals and one assist across all competitions.

He later joined Sassuolo in 2023 and has since continued his development in Serie A.

Australia coach Tony Popovic is expected to name his final 26-man squad for the June 11 to July 19 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico on Monday.

The Socceroos will face Turkey, the United States and Paraguay in the group stage, opening their campaign against Turkey in Vancouver on June 13.

(With inputs from Reuters)