World Cup 2026: Cristian Volpato makes Italy to Australia switch before World Cup

Volpato made nine appearances for Italy under-21s and scored one goal

Former Italy under-21 international Cristian Volpato is switching allegiance to Australia before the Socceroos announce their squad for the 2026 Fifa World Cup on 1 June.

The 22-year-old midfielder was born and raised in Sydney but holds dual citizenship after moving to Italy in 2020 to join Roma's youth system. He joined Serie A side Sassuolo in 2023 and has represented Italy at youth level.

Having only represented Italy at youth level, Volapto meets one of five different sets of circumstances that make a player eligible to switch international allegiance.

Volpato has been added to Australia's preliminary squad and will take part in a training camp in Los Angeles before manager Tony Popovic announces his 26-man squad on Monday.

Football Australia said it had received a release letter from its Italian counterparts and lodged the relevant paperwork with Fifa as it waits for the world governing body to ratify Volpato's decision to switch.

Volpato turned down the chance to represent Australia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar because he wanted to focus on his club career in Italy and didn't want to make a "rushed decision" that could "risk being extremely premature".

He said he was happy to "wait for Italy" after Popovic approached him earlier this year.

After Italy failed to qualify for a third successive World Cup in March, manager Gennaro Gattuso and Italian FA (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina left their positions. Both are yet to be replaced.

Earlier this week Australia and Middlesbrough playmaker Riley McGree was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury during the Championship play-off final.

Australia begin their World Cup campaign against Turkey on Sunday, 14 June (05:00 BST), before facing the United States and Paraguay.

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