Wellington Phoenix are pleased to announce that 23-year-old midfielder Reno Piscopo has been selected in Australia’s 18-man Olyroos squad for Tokyo 2020 – with Australia qualifying for the Olympics for the first time since 2008.
Piscopo joins Phoenix teammates Clayton Lewis, Ben Waine, Sam Sutton and Ben Old in Tokyo next month, along with Phoenix Academy players Alex Paulsen, Anna Green and Michaela Robertson.
Piscopo says that it is a huge honour to be heading to the Olympics for the first time.
“This is a such a massive honour for me, it always means a lot to get the call-up and to represent my country – it means everything to me,” says Piscopo.
“This is one of the highlights of my career and it’s something I am greatly appreciative of.”
Piscopo says that it has been a ‘long road’ getting to this moment.
“In the qualifiers [in January 2020 in Thailand], it was amazing to get through and qualify after it being such a long time that we weren’t able to; the squad showed great spirit and there was a really good feeling amongst the players.
“Covid then put everything on hold for a while, but now it’s all going ahead and I couldn’t be happier – it will be my first time in Tokyo and I’m excited to go over there and compete for my country next month.”
Piscopo will head to Tokyo later this week, with the Olyroos squad taking on Spain on Sunday 25 July in Men’s Group C.
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