Cristian Volpato's Journey to the Socceroos: A New Chapter Begins
Cristian Volpato stood in front of the camera and finally put words to the tug-of-war that has followed him for years.
“Something — I don't know — in my heart just said, ‘I think it's time to come home.’”
Home, now, is the Socceroos.
The 22-year-old Sassuolo attacker is set to pull on Australia’s shirt for the first time against Switzerland at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Saturday (5am Sunday AEST), a debut that carries far more weight than a routine pre-World Cup friendly. It marks the end of a long, public courtship and the beginning of a new chapter for a player who once turned his back on the same opportunity.
From Rome to San Diego
As an 18-year-old at Roma, Volpato stunned Australian football when he rejected Graham Arnold’s pitch to join the 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar. The message back then was clear: he wanted to wait for Italy. He played for the Azzurri at youth level and, as recently as March, spoke about holding out for a senior call-up.
That dream has now given way to another.
Italy failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup. Australia did. The equation, emotionally and professionally, shifted.
“Obviously, playing in a World Cup for your nation is something unreal,” Volpato said in a video interview released by Football Australia. “Playing for Italy also was good and amazing.
“But maybe when I was 18, maybe I was a bit too young, and maybe I was a bit too scared to make the change straight away, so maybe I was in my comfort zone a bit, playing for Italy.”
The comfort zone has gone. The decision, finally, is made.
A choice that never left his mind
Volpato doesn’t pretend this was simple.
“I'm Italian and I'm Australian, so it's actually been a big decision that's always been in my head 24/7 for quite a while,” he said. “It's really hard because it's like people want you to choose something, one or the other.”
He has chosen, he says, with his sense of belonging.
“I do feel Australian, so it felt really good coming in, being brought in by the boys, and speaking English — Aussie.”
The path to that moment ran through long, honest conversations. Socceroos coach Tony Popovic made it clear he would not “beg” Volpato to declare for Australia. The dialogue continued anyway. So did the lobbying from close friend Alessandro Circati, the Parma defender who has already committed to the green and gold.
The decisive push came at the end of the Serie A season, when Sassuolo met Circati’s Parma on the final day.
“He was trying to convince me, and I was like, alright, I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come,” Volpato recalled.
This time, he followed through.
Popovic ready to unleash his new weapon
Volpato arrived in camp too late to feature against Mexico, but Popovic has now cleared him to play.
On Friday, the coach confirmed the forward is “fit and available” to face Switzerland and expects him to see minutes in Australia’s final warm-up before the World Cup. The staff have pushed him hard to match the conditioning levels of the rest of the squad, and Popovic believes he is now looking the sharpest he has since joining the group.
Inside the camp, teammates have been careful not to inflame the story. Midfielder Connor Metcalfe brushed off a question about whether Volpato’s late switch had caused any friction, a sign the squad is keen to move from debate to performance.
Volpato, for his part, wants to repay the faith quickly.
“Obviously people are writing us off a lot because we're Australia,” he said. “But I believe in the group, I believe in the coach, I think we've got a really good team, so hopefully we can shock a lot of people.”
The words carry a hint of defiance. They also sound like a player eager to be judged on what he does with the ball, not the passport he chose.
Dress rehearsal for the ‘big dance’
Saturday’s clash with Switzerland is more than a sentimental backdrop for a debut. It is a carefully chosen test.
The midday kick-off in San Diego is designed to mirror conditions for Australia’s second group match against the United States on June 19 (June 20 AEST), right down to the quick exit from the city afterwards. Popovic called it “a good dress rehearsal, good last hit-out for players to get minutes in before the big dance in front of us.”
Switzerland offer the kind of disciplined, European opposition that should expose any weaknesses before the World Cup opener against Turkey in Vancouver on June 13. They also present a high bar for Volpato to clear if he wants to force his way into the starting picture.
He won’t be the only fresh face under the microscope. Striker Tete Yengi could also make his debut, adding another layer of intrigue to a match that suddenly feels far more consequential than a standard friendly.
For years, Cristian Volpato stood at a crossroads, the pull of Italy and Australia splitting his football identity in two. In San Diego, the debate ends. The Socceroos finally have their man.
Now the question is simple: how much can he change their World Cup story?
