Italian player changes citizenship to participate in the 2026 World Cup.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Cristian Volpato, a player who previously played for Italy's youth national teams, has decided to change his citizenship to Australia in order to participate in the 2026 World Cup.

On the evening of June 1st, the Australian national team announced their squad for the 2026 World Cup. Notably, the list included striker Cristian Volpato. Interestingly, the 2003-born forward only recently acquired Australian citizenship to participate in the world's premier football tournament.

Cristian Volpato decided to dedicate himself to Australia to participate in the World Cup, instead of waiting for an opportunity with the Italian national team (Photo: Getty).

Previously, Cristian Volpato had served Italy's youth national teams such as the U19, U20, and U21. At the 2022 World Cup, the striker, who plays for Sassuolo, refused to change his citizenship to Australia in the hope of representing Italy.

However, with Italy still not qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, Cristian Volpato couldn't wait any longer. He decided to "open his heart" to the Australian national team. He immediately earned the trust of coach Toni Popovic. FIFA approved Cristian Volpato's request to transfer his federation from Italy to Australia. Immediately, the player flew to Los Angeles to join the Australian national team.

Cristian Volpato had an impressive season playing for Sassuolo last year (Photo: Getty).

Volpato was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, but his parents are Italian. He grew up in the Italian football environment. During his career, he played for two Serie A clubs: AS Roma and Sassuolo.

Last season, Cristian Volpato scored 6 goals and provided 4 assists in 24 appearances for Sassuolo. At the 2026 World Cup, Australia will be in Group D along with Türkiye, the USA, and Paraguay.

Australian team roster: Patrick Beach, Aziz Behich, Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Cameron Devlin, Jason Geria, Lucas Herrington, Ajdin Hrustic, Nestory Irankunda, Jackson Irvine, Jacob Italiano, Paul Izzo, Mathew Leckie, Awer Mabil, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O'Neill, Paul Okon-Engstler, Mat Ryan, Harry Souttar, Mohamed Toure, Kai Trewin, Nishan Velupillay, Cristian Volpato, Tete Yengi.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/cau-thu-italy-doi-quoc-tich-de-tham-du-world-cup-2026-20260601200626905.htm