Cristian Volpato #20

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The prodigious talent ended years of speculation over whether he would commit to Australia – the country of his birth – or Italy with accepting a bombshell call-up to the Socceroos squad on the eve of this World Cup. The previous head coach, Graham Arnold, said that Volpato had turned down the chance to play at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, which came a few months after the player appeared to mock the Socceroos on Snapchat following a 2-0 defeat to Japan in Asian Cup qualifying. The 22-year-old can play as an attacking midfielder or winger with his versatility helping to establish him as a regular at Sassuolo over the past three seasons – and earn him selection with Italy’s youth teams in recent years. “When you have a talented player, I'm not sure what the risk is,” the Socceroos coach, Tony Popovic, said of the selection curveball. Now it’s over to the Sydney-born and raised Volpato to live up to the hype.

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