An 18-year-old player in Serie A has rejected a call-up to represent his nation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup this month.
Cristian Volpato has caught the eye while featuring for AS Roma this season, which included bagging a goal and an assist on his Serie A debut against Hellas Verona.
Read: OFFICIAL: Argentina announce squad for World Cup
Volpato was called up to the Australian 26-man squad, but coach Graham Arnold has revealed the rising star turned down the offer to play at the world Cup.
"I pretty much told him yesterday he was in the 26-man squad. He wanted to go away and think about it. He wanted to speak to the people around him that helped guide his career," Arnold said, as per Daily Star.
"And he came back last night and declined the offer to come and play for Australia at the World Cup.
"That's his decision at the end of the day."
The Roma youngster did explain his decision to surprisingly reject a call-up for the biggest tournament in football.
"I am still just at the start of my professional career and I am totally focused on continuing that process at Roma," he wrote on social media.
"Making any sort of rushed decision about my international future at this early stage risks being extremely premature."
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