FIFA announced this Wednesday (5) that the Italian-Brazilian João Pedro, Cagliari's center forward, can now represent the Italian football team. He recently acquired the Italian nationality.
FIFA's approval was necessary in this case, as João Pedro Galvão participated in the U17 World Cup in 2009 representing the Brazilian team.
The player will turn 30 in March, just before the Italy game against North Macedonia (March 24), in the first round of the playoffs for the World Cup in Qatar. In case of victory for the 'blues', the next opponent could be Portugal, if the Portuguese beat Turkey.
João Pedro passed by bwin league, standing out at Estoril Praia, in Portugal, in 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, with ten goals in 45 games. In 2015 he left for Sardinia, remaining at Cagliari ever since, with great success. He scored nine goals in 19 games, which gives him fifth place on the goalscoring list, despite the club's poor season. Cagliari.
Graduated in Atléticoo Miner, the player also played for Palermo (Italy), Vitoria de Guimarães, Peñarol (Uruguay) and Santos.
The naturalization process in 2017 was facilitated by the fact have if married to an Italian.
Born in Ipatinga, in the state of Minas Gerais, the young man married a Sicilian woman he met when he was at Palermo. The couple also have two children.
In the “azzurra”, João Pedro will find Jorginho, Emerson Palmieri and Rafael Toloi, other Italian-Brazilians, who must campaign for the play-offs.
Article updated on 06/01/22, at 12:45 pm
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