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Former Uruguay international Bruno Fornaroli has been named in the Socceroos squad for crucial upcoming World Cup qualifiers after being granted his Australia citizenship just over a year ago.
With Fornaroli’s Australian citizenship now granted, Football Australia has submitted paperwork to FIFA requesting to switch Fornaroli’s international football allegiance from Uruguay to Australia and is anticipating that this will be approved prior to next Thursday’s match against Japan. In late 2021 Football Australia underwent through the same process regarding the versatile Gianni Stensness, who has also been included in the Socceroos’ squad for March 2022.
Fornaroli was born in Salto, Uruguay and represented his country in the Under 17s. He arrived in Australia seven years ago and has been one of the marquee players ever since.
“This is a massive opportunity, it’s crazy,” Fornaroli said.
“I tried not to get so excited until the coach called me and said you will be in the squad. Now it’s reality. I’m living a dream.”
“All my career I’ve waited for a moment like this.”
Twenty-seven players hailing from clubs in Australia, Scotland, Saudi Arabia, United States of America, Japan, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Denmark, Spain, and Netherlands, will unite for Australia this month as the Socceroos take on Japan (home) and Saudi Arabia (away) in FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Australia’s squad for next Thursday night’s match against Japan at Homebush in Sydney and the following week’s encounter with Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah features a mix of international experience and fresh energy, including five uncapped players and three of which will be entering the Socceroos’ set-up for the very first time.
“This window represents a great opportunity for our players and staff to do something truly special for Australian football, and we will be focusing all our energies on producing two great performances against Japan and Saudi Arabia and lifting the Socceroos to the World Cup,” Coach Graham Arnold said.
Olyroos graduates Nathaniel Atkinson and Nicholas D’Agostino – who has been in scintillating form for Melbourne Victory of late – will make their first contributions to a Socceroos camp in Sydney next week, while Perth Glory ace Bruno Fornaroli has been called up after he was recently granted Australian citizenship.
With the Socceroos having the opportunity to advance directly to this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar should they earn back-to-back wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia over the next fortnight, Arnold is confident that he has selected a group of players ready to make the most of what he’s labelling a “win-win window” for the group.
“With a play-off spot for June already locked in, if required, the players will be able to come to camp with clear minds as to what’s ahead of them, and enjoy the time that they have working hard together and playing in front of their family, friends, and fans.”
Next Thursday’s match will represent Australia’s 17th fixture in its quest to qualify for Qatar 2022.
| Name | Club, Country | ‘A’ Caps (Goals) |
| Nathaniel ATKINSON | Heart of Midlothian, Scotland | 0 (0) |
| Aziz BEHICH | Giresunspor, Turkey | 48 (2) |
| Martin BOYLE | Al-Faisaly, Saudi Arabia | 14 (5) |
| Nicholas D’AGOSTINO | Melbourne Victory FC, Australia | 0 (0) |
| Milos DEGENEK | Columbus Crew, USA | 35 (1) |
| Mitchell DUKE | Fagiano Okayama, Japan | 17 (7) |
| Bruno FORNAROLI | Perth Glory FC, Australia | 0 (0) |
| Denis GENREAU | Toulouse FC, France | 1 (0) |
| Craig GOODWIN | Adelaide United FC, Australia | 7 (1) |
| Rhyan GRANT | Sydney FC, Australia | 20 (1) |
| Ajdin HRUSTIC | Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany | 14 (2) |
| Jackson IRVINE | FC St. Pauli, Germany | 45 (6) |
| James JEGGO | KAS Eupen, Belgium | 13 (0) |
| Fran KARACIC | Brescia Calcio, Italy | 7 (1) |
| Joel KING | Odense Boldklub, Denmark | 1 (0) |
| Mathew LECKIE | Melbourne City FC, Australia | 69 (13) |
| Awer MABIL | Kasimpasa SK, Turkey | 23 (6) |
| Jamie MACLAREN* | Melbourne City FC, Australia | 21 (8) |
| Connor METCALFE | Melbourne City FC, Australia | 2 (0) |
| Andrew REDMAYNE (Gk) | Sydney FC, Australia | 2 (0) |
| Tomas ROGIC | Celtic FC, Scotland | 53 (10) |
| Kye ROWLES | Central Coast Mariners FC, Australia | 0 (0) |
| Mathew RYAN (Gk) | Real Sociedad, Spain | 69 (0) |
| Trent SAINSBURY | KV Kortrijk, Belgium | 58 (4) |
| Gianni STENSNESS | Viking FK, Denmark | 0 (0) |
| Marco TILIO | Melbourne City FC, Australia | 1 (0) |
| Daniel VUKOVIC (Gk) | NEC Nijmegen, Netherlands | 4 (0) |
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