BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Christian Volpato stored in Australia world cup Four years after he turned down an invitation to join the Socceroos for the 2022 competition, he joins the squad just days after confirming his switch to Italy’s international eligibility.
Coach Tony Popovich included the 22-year-old Volpato in the 26-man squad announced on Monday. Volpato and striker Tete Yengi were among the 17 players selected for the World Cup squad for the first time.
Captains Matt Ryan and Matthew Wreckie, who have 104 international caps, have been selected to play in their fourth World Cup, equaling the Australian record held by Tim Cahill and Mark Milligan, and Popovich said the veteran pair “can lead the way and guide the younger players”.
Sydney-born Volpato played for Italy Under-21s but was eligible for a transfer to Australia under FIFA regulations as he had never played a competitive game for Italy’s first team. Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup Co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Volpato had just attended the Socceroos’ camp in Los Angeles over the weekend and was too late to join. Lost 1-0 to Mexico in a World Cup pre-game In Pasadena.
“He is a very talented player. Although he is a young player, he is doing well in Serie A,” Popovic said at a press conference after announcing the squad. “He’s a very technically gifted player, has a great left foot and is comfortable under pressure. I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Popovich said it would be easy to say the selection for Australia was a forward-looking decision, but “I think we should keep our expectations high for now.”
“What we have is young vibrancy and exciting talent,” he said. “Will they be better in four years, eight years from now? No doubt about it, but that doesn’t mean they’re not good enough now.
“I want all of them to have (selection) headaches every week. And I believe in these young guys.”
Australia will play another warm-up match against Switzerland in San Diego on Saturday to make fine-tuning preparations for future games. Group D They will face Turkey in Vancouver on June 13th, then face the USA in Seattle six days later and face Paraguay in Santa Clara on June 25th.
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Australian representative:
Goalkeepers: Matt Ryan, Patrick Beach, Paul Izzo.
Defenders: Aziz Behic, Jordan Voss, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Jason Geria, Lukas Herrington, Jacob Italiano, Harry Souttar, Kai Trewin.
Midfielders: Cameron Devlin, Jackson Irvine, Conor Metcalf, Matthew Leckie, Paul Ocon-Engstler, Aiden O’Neill.
Forwards: Ajudin Hrstic, Nestry Ilankunda, Avel Mabil, Mohamed Toure, Nishan Velupillai, Christian Volpat, Tete Yengi.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
