Volpato in Australia's World Cup squad days after switch of allegiance

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Cristian Volpato has been vaulted into Australia’s World Cup squad just days after confirming a switch of national eligibility from Italy, and four years after he declined an invitation to join the Socceroos ahead of the 2022 tournament.

Coach Tony Popovic included the 22-year-old Volpato in the 26-man squad announced Monday, Australian time. He and striker Tete Yengi were among 17 players selected in a World Cup squad for the first time.

Skipper Mat Ryan, with 104 international caps, and veteran Mathew Leckie were picked for a fourth World Cup, equaling the Australian record held by Tim Cahill and Mark Milligan.

“A range of factors has gone into selecting this final World Cup squad,” Popovic said in a statement. “Some difficult decisions had to be made ... but it’s also a credit to all the players involved who worked extremely hard during an extended and challenging pre-camp.

“I’d like to acknowledge the players who contributed to our direct World Cup qualification but are not part of this squad.”

The Sydney-born Volpato played for Italy’s Under-21 team but was eligible to make the switch to Australia under FIFA rules because he never played a competitive game for the senior Italy team. Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup being co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Volpato only joined the Socceroos camp in Los Angeles on the weekend, too late to participate in the 1-0 World Cup warmup loss to Mexico at Pasadena.

Australia will play another warmup game on Saturday against Switzerland at San Diego to finetune for Group D games against Turkey at Vancouver on June 13, the U.S. at Seattle six days later and Paraguay at Santa Clara on June 25.

Australia squad:

Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan, Patrick Beach, Paul Izzo.

Defenders: Aziz Behich, Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Jason Geria, Lucas Herrington, Jacob Italiano, Harry Souttar, Kai Trewin.

Midfielders: Cameron Devlin, Jackson Irvine, Connor Metcalfe, Mathew Leckie, Paul Okon-Engstler, Aiden O’Neill.

Forwards: Ajdin Hrustic, Nestory Irankunda, Awer Mabil, Mohamed Toure, Nishan Velupillay, Cristian Volpato, Tete Yengi.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup