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Cristian Volpato (right) during his time with AS Roma in 2022. After previously representing Italy at youth level, he will now play for the Australian national team at the 2026 World Cup.

Australia’s national football team has officially revealed its 2026 World Cup squad, with one debutant standing out for ultimately turning his back on Italy.

Just a day after suffering a 0-1 defeat to Mexico in a friendly match on Saturday (30 May 2026), Australia head coach Graham Arnold announced the 26 players who will travel to the 2026 World Cup.

The Socceroos’ squad features a majority of experienced players.

Among them are the scorers from their encounter with Indonesia in the Asian Qualifiers — Jackson Irvine, Harry Souttar, and Nishan Velupillay.

However, Arnold has also included around 17 players who could make their World Cup debut.

Out of those 17, two players have never made a senior appearance for Australia before.

Those two are Cristian Volpato and Tete Yengi.

Volpato’s inclusion is particularly notable as he is a teammate of Indonesia’s national team captain, Jay Idzes, at Sassuolo.

Volpato was born in New South Wales to second-generation Italian parents.

Born on 15 November 2003, he caught the attention of AS Roma’s academy and joined under the management of club legend Francesco Totti’s agency in 2020.

After becoming a regular for Roma’s U-18 team, Volpato made his professional debut with I Lupi at the end of 2021.

The 187 cm-tall player was later transferred to Sassuolo in 2023.

Holding dual citizenship, Cristian Volpato has been eligible to represent both Italy and Australia.

At youth level, the attacking midfielder (trequartista) represented Italy from the U-19 to the U-21 categories.

Since 2021, there have been rumours about Australia’s interest in calling him up to the senior squad.

Negotiations followed, with Graham Arnold previously attempting to call Volpato up for the 2022 World Cup.

However, the coach revealed that Volpato declined the opportunity at that time.

Now, Volpato has been officially included in Arnold’s 26-man roster for the 2026 World Cup.

This means the young playmaker has now officially switched allegiance from Italy to represent Australia at senior level.

Australia’s 2026 World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers:

• Mathew Ryan (AZ Alkmaar)
• Joe Gauci (Aston Villa)
• Paul Izzo (Randers FC)

Defenders:

• Aziz Behich (Melbourne City)
• Harry Souttar (Sheffield United)
• Kye Rowles (Hearts)
• Cameron Burges (Ipswich Town)
• Lewis Miller (Hibernian)
• Thomas Deng (Albirex Niigata)
• Alessandro Circati (Parma)
• Jordan Bos (Westerlo)
• Jason Geria (Melbourne Victory)

Midfielders:

• Jackson Irvine (St. Pauli)
• Ajdin Hrustic (Salernitana)
• Keanu Baccus (Mansfield Town)
• Connor Metcalfe (St. Pauli)
• Aiden O'Neill (Standard Liege)
• Cameron Devlin (Hearts)
• Patrick Yazbek (Nashville)

Forwards:

• Mathew Leckie (Melbourne City)
• Mitchell Duke (Machida Zelvia)
• Brandon Borrello (Western Sydney Wanderers)
• Nestory Irankunda (Bayern Munich)
• Cristian Volpato (Sassuolo)
• Tete Yengi (Livingston)
• Kusini Yengi (Portsmouth)