The former Mittagong Lion has been selected in Italy’s 2017 Rugby League World Cup Squad.

Alvaro, who plays for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL, could play in his first World Cup.

Already this year he has represented Country Origin and played in his first NRL finals series.

Alvaro has Italian heritage through his grandfather, who was born in Italy.

“Italy is someone I’ve always been keen to play for,” he said.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

Alvaro took part in a camp with Italy when he was in the under-20s competition but has yet to represent the country.

He is part of a 54 man squad that will travel to Cairns for a training camp and trial match later this month.

With only a few weeks until the World Cup Kicks off, Alvaro said he was confident he could make the final team.

He is joined in the squad by fellow NRL players Aidan Guerra, James Tedesco, Nathan Brown, Paul Vaughan, Josh Aloiai as well as well known players Mark Minichiello and Terry Campese.

“The good thing about it is you get to play with guys you don’t usually get to play with. We’ve got some really good quality players.”

While it is not known to be a strong rugby league nation, Alvaro said he believed Italy could do well in the World Cup.

“I think we’ll surprise a few people. Hopefully we have a good couple of week, get through our pool and go from there.”

The Rugby League World Cup will run from October 27 until December 2 in Australia and New Zealand.

Italy’s first World Cup match will be against Ireland in Cairns on October 29 before travelling to Townsville to take on the USA on November 5.

It’s third pool match will be against Fiji in Canberra on November 10.

It was a tough finish to the NRL season for Alvaro and the Eels. Parramatta made it through the semi-finals but were defeated by eventual premiers North Queensland Cowboys 24-16. Alvaro played only a small role in the match after he was sidelined under the concussion rule early in the game.