18-year-old Roma star speaks out after rejecting chance to play for national team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
AS Roma midfielder Cristian Volpato has broken his silence after rejecting a chance to represent Australia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Australia manager Graham Arnold named his 26-man squad on Tuesday (8 November), with Volpato's name excluded from the list. The Socceroos boss told Fox Sports (h/t Sport Bible):
"He wanted to speak to the people around him that helped guide his career. And he came back last night and declined the offer to come and play for Australia at the World Cup. That’s his decision at the end of the day.”
Volpato has now given his personal views on why he rejected the chance to play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He posted a story on Instagram, in which he wrote:
"I’ve seen lots of speculation about decisions I have supposedly taken at international level: the truth is I am just at the start of my professional career and I am totally focused on continuing that process at Roma. Making any sort of rushed decision about my international future at this early stage risks being extremely premature.
He continued:
There will be plenty of time for me to make the decision that feels right for me, but right now, I know my focus needs to be continuing to work hard each and every day in order to continue improving as a player.”
Volpato has made five senior appearances for Roma this season, where he has scored and assisted one goal each. He came through the youth ranks of Western Sydney Wanderers before joining I Giallorossi in January of 2020.
Cristian Volpato could have eyes on Italy call-up after snubbing 2022 FIFA World Cup call-up
Volpato was born in Camperdown, Australia but also holds Italian citizenship. The Roma midfielder has already represented the Azzurri at the U-20 level, where he has made three appearances.
The midfield could have his sights set on becoming a full international for Italy one day. Current FIFA rules would have prevented him from switching nationalities if he represented Australia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and made more than three competitive appearances.
This could prove to be a risky strategy considering the perennial pool of talent that Italy has at its disposal. However, Arnold remains optimistic about Volpato representing Australia in the future.
Continuing his interview with Fox, he said:
"He wants to make this big decision when there are two countries he can play for in Australia and Italy. He made that decision and he declined our opportunity to come and play for Australia at the World Cup. It doesn't mean that he won't do that in the future.”