Volpato joins Socceroos World Cup camp four years after snubbing Australia

[p]The 22-year-old ‌attacking midfielder, a dual citizen who ‌was born and raised in Sydney, plays ‌for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sassuolo/QDdvI0zl/"]Sassuolo[/a] in Serie A.[/p][p]He turned down a chance to play for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/xSrf6qMM/"]Australia[/a] ‌at the 2022 World Cup, ⁠and another approach ‌from Australia coach Tony Popovic earlier this ​year looked to have foundered when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/volpato-cristian/2B5YqXFG/"]Volpato[/a] said he was happy ​to "[b]wait for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/hlKvieGH/"]Italy[/a][/b]".[/p][p]Football Australia said they had received a release letter from ⁠their Italian counterparts ​and lodged paperwork with FIFA for "[b]change of association clearance to ratify Volpato's decision to switch allegiance to Australia[/b]".[/p][p]"[b]Once cleared, ‌Volpato will be eligible to officially represent the Socceroos,[/b]" the governing body said in a statement.[/p][embed guid="60d0abb7-6bff-4e54-896e-be9d53e5acef" url="https://x.com/DanielGarb/status/2060274432460087700" social-type="twitter" /][p]The news comes days after Australia lost playmaker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mcgree-riley/nqCW2QeG/"]Riley McGree[/a] for the tournament because of a hamstring injury he sustained playing for English club [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/middlesbrough/6F0lvLNC/"]Middlesbrough[/a].[/p][p]Popovic will name his ‌final 26-man squad for the June 11 ​to July 19 tournament in the ‌United States, Canada and Mexico on Monday.[/p][p]Australia play [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QeijuHo5/"]Turkey[/a], the U.S. and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/paraguay/YaNlqp6j/"]Paraguay[/a] in the opening-round group stage, kicking off their campaign against ⁠the Turks in ⁠Vancouver on ‌June 13.[/p]