Cristian Volpato Added to Socceroos Train-On Squad for 2026 World Cup
Cristian Volpato, an attacker born in Sydney who previously represented Italy at youth level, has been added to the CommBank Socceroos train-on squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He will join the pre-camp in Los Angeles, United States.
Status of Allegiance Switch
Football Australia has lodged paperwork with FIFA and is awaiting a Change of Association Clearance to ratify Volpato's switch to Australia. A release letter from the Italian Football Federation has been received. Once cleared, Volpato will be eligible to represent the Socceroos.
Background
Volpato played junior football for Sydney United 58, Sydney FC, and Western Sydney before moving to Italy. He has represented Italy at Under-19 and Under-20 levels.
Train-On Squad
The train-on squad includes 30 players:
Patrick Beach, Aziz Behich, Brandon Borrello, Jordan Bos, Martin Boyle, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Cameron Devlin, Joe Gauci, Jason Geria, Lucas Herrington, Ajdin Hrustic, Nestory Irankunda, Jackson Irvine, Jacob Italiano, Paul Izzo, Mathew Leckie, Awer Mabil, Connor Metcalfe, Paul Okon-Engstler, Aiden O'Neill, Kye Rowles, Mat Ryan, Harry Souttar, Mohamed Toure, Kai Trewin, Nishan Velupillay, Cristian Volpato, and Tete Yengi.
Upcoming Matches
The final squad of up to 26 players is due by June 1. The Socceroos will play friendlies against:
- Mexico (May 30, Pasadena)
- Switzerland (June 6, San Diego)
Their World Cup campaign begins against Turkey on June 13 in Vancouver. Group D also includes the United States (June 19, Seattle) and Paraguay (June 25, Santa Clara).