Australia issued their final roster for the World Cup yesterday, which didn’t feature Roma starlet Cristian Volpato, even though coach Graham Arnold wanted to call him up. The youngster preferred not committing to the Socceroos despite the immediate opportunity, hoping to play with the Azzurri in the future, Sky Italy reports.
The 18-year-old just bagged his second Serie A goal against Verona over the weekend. He’s in line to get more minutes in the final two matches of 2022 since Lorenzo Pellegrini won’t be available due to a thigh injury. He’s rumored to get the start versus Sassuolo later today. He has five caps, two goals, and one assist in five appearances with the Giallorossi.
The Australia gaffer was quizzed about Volpato by Fox Sports.
“I pretty much told him he was in the 26-man squad. He wanted to go away and think about it and speak to the people around him that helped guide his career. He came back last night and declined to come and play for us at the World Cup. That’s his decision at the end of the day. I tried to convince him right up until probably 11 pm last night. I spoke with him three times, and I had done it in numerous occasions in the past.”
The prodigy was born in Camperdown from Italian parents. He weighed in with an Instagram story.
“I’ve seen a lot of speculations about decisions I have supposedly taken at international level: the truth is that I am still just at the start of my professional career, and I am totally focused on continuing that process at Roma. Making any sort of rushed choice at this early stage risks being extremely premature.”
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