Cristian Volpato’s Socceroos Debut on the Horizon
Cristian Volpato might be set to make his debut for the Socceroos in the upcoming friendly match against Mexico, which is scheduled for Sunday. National coach Tony Popovic has expressed confidence in the 22-year-old’s talent, stating that there was no risk involved in including him in the team for the FIFA World Cup.
Volpato, who plays for Italian top-flight club Sassuolo, initially indicated he was waiting for Italy to call him up. However, he has since changed his stance and has been quickly integrated into the Socceroos’ pre-World Cup training camp.
With FIFA having officially approved Volpato’s switch of international allegiance, Popovic mentioned that the young forward could come off the bench during the game at the Rose Bowl in California.
“He’s actually eligible to play (on Sunday), which he may,” Popovic said. “We probably would have liked him to come (into camp) two or three days earlier, but he did play on the weekend (for Sassuolo), so the earliest he could have arrived was probably on Tuesday (American time).”
Popovic admitted that he would have preferred Volpato to arrive four days earlier, but the process of switching allegiances was still ongoing. He emphasized that his priority was ensuring that Volpato would be eligible for the World Cup.
“I wanted a bit more clarity that this can actually go through in time that he’s eligible for the World Cup. That was my priority. I was willing to wait as long as I could, so that, for me, was the only risk … (but) when you have a talented player, I’m not sure what the risk is.”
Popovic clarified that he had not actively pursued Volpato or encouraged him to join the World Cup squad.
“We’ve always appreciated him as a footballer. That hasn’t changed, but I have to always respect the player’s decision, and I’ve always done that,” the Socceroos mentor said.
“Once he made a decision that he wants to represent Australia, well, now there’s a decision that we have to make. We had to really think about how long this will take, and if it takes too long, maybe it’s not worth doing now, but (Football Australia) has done a wonderful job in making this happen so quickly, and that’s what brought us to this decision to bring him in now.”
Socceroos star Harry Souttar, who was born in Scotland but pledged his allegiance to Australia in 2019, believes that Volpato – who represented Italy at youth level – will be warmly welcomed by the Australian squad.
“Myself included, (there are) a lot of players in our team that have represented other countries from different age groups,” Souttar said. “He’s made a decision. All the lads are really looking forward to meeting him, getting him into camp, getting him training (and) get him playing.”
“From what I’ve seen, he’s a very good player and he’s going to be here on merit. He’s going to make us a better team – simple as that. We look forward to seeing him.”
Volpato’s inclusion brings the number of players in the camp to 30, with Popovic set to announce his final 26-man World Cup squad after the game against Mexico.
