It has been confirmed that a teenager has turned down the chance to go to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
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Roma teen Cristian Volpato has snubbed the opportunity to represent Australia at this year’s tournament, as revealed by the country’s national team manager Graham Arnold.
Volpato, who was born in Sydney, has represented Italy at youth level and appears to have set his sights on playing for the Azzurri in future after his decision to not accept Arnold’s offer.
"It's not my decision, I spoke to Cristian yesterday three times, before that I'd spoken to him on numerous occasions," he told reporters.
"I pretty much told him yesterday that he was in the 26-man squad, he wanted to go away and think about it, wanted to speak to the people around him who help guide his career.
"He came back last night and declined the offer to come and play for Australia at the World Cup."
After receiving criticism online for rejecting the Socceroos, the 18-year-old Serie A-based player took to social media to explain that he did not want to get drawn into making a "rushed decision".
"I am still just at the start of my professional career and I am totally focused on continuing that process at Roma," he wrote.
"Making any sort of rushed decision about my international future at this early stage risks being extremely premature."
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Australia are in Group D at the World Cup with France, Denmark and Tunisia.
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