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Why Bosnich isn't against handing Volpato a Socceroos call-up
Jaiden Sciberras • April 4th, 2026 2:37 am
Would the Socceroos benefit from welcoming Cristian Volpato back into the international setup?
22-year-old Volpato was born and raised in Sydney, playing out his junior career with the Sydney FC and Western Sydney academies before making the shift to Roma's youth setup in 2020.
Making his senior debut for Roma in 2021, the midfielder earned a move to Sassuolo, where he now plies his trade at the top level of Italian football.
External to club level, Volpato has featured 10 times in the Italian National team's junior sides, playing in the U19s and most recently suiting up in the U21s in 2025.
Despite spending his junior years in Sydney, Volpato has committed to Italy, and while the Australian National team has expressed interest in calling the midfielder up to the senior side, Volpato remains determined to earn his debut call-up for the Azzurri in the coming years.
“I spoke to the coach (Tony Popovic),” Volpato told reporters.
“They’ve been wanting to call me to Australia for a few years, but I grew up watching the Azzurri, even the coach, and I’m waiting for Italy.
“Then we will see how the rest goes.”
Leading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Italy incredibly fell short in qualification once again, losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a dramatic penalty shootout to mark the third straight World Cup without the four-time World Champions.
And after an admirable AFC qualification, Australia cemented their place in the tournament for the sixth straight campaign.
With over a month until the World Cup provisional squad's May 11 deadline, Volpato still remains eligible for Australian selection if the player himself decides to make the shift.
And while Popovic has expressed that he won't look to "sell the shirt" to any eligible player, former Socceroo Mark Bosnich would not be against handing Volpato a shirt for the upcoming tournament.
“Not really, (I wouldn't be against it),” Bosnich told SEN’s The Run Home.
“Like with Adrian Segecic, I’m disappointed, but because the eligibility rules make it easier than it was to pick the country that you play for, it is up to the player.
“You don’t know what’s happened in his upbringing or around him growing up in Australia. Sometimes, things can happen and you don’t really know, and sometimes things like that happen and people don’t want to talk about it.
“I can only talk from my experience – I was born here, I remember growing up, and it’s still the same, football wasn’t the number one sport, but I also know there was great participation and a lot of people look up to you.
“I had the opportunity to go and play for other (nations), but the eligibility rules were much stricter then. That was my choice. Other people have different experiences.
“I’d like to keep the door open, just like with Adrian Segecic and just like other national teams would do.
“If he decides not to play, we will be disappointed, but if I had the ear of him or his father I’d turn around and say ‘listen, you might want to reconsider because we’ve just qualified for our sixth straight World Cup, and Italy has missed the last three!’”
The provisional squad permits each national team to submit between 35-55 eligible players, of which 23-26 must be selected by the May 30 deadline.
