Australia’s memorable win against Turkey made history on the World Cup stage. Nishan Velupillai made his World Cup debut as a substitute in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It was the first time in almost 20 years that a footballer of Indian origin was seen on the World Cup stage. Vikas Dhorachu previously played for France in the 2006 World Cup.
Nissan came on for goalkeeper Nestor Irankunder in the 60th minute of the match against Turkey in Vancouver, Canada. This 25-year-old star wrote his name in the history of the World Cup. Nishan’s father is of Sri Lankan Tamil descent and his mother is Anglo-Indian. He has long been a household name in Australian domestic football.
After being named in Melbourne Victory’s starting line-up in 2021, he never looked back. Nishan scored 25 goals and provided 14 assists in 138 appearances for the club. He was one of the team’s key players in 2021–22 and won the Young Player of the Year award that year. He also won the Vijay Golden Boot in 2024-2025 with 12 goals and nine assists.
Nissan was invited to the Australian national team during the World Cup qualifier against China. So far he has played 8 matches for Australia and scored 3 goals and 1 assist and all these goals came in World Cup qualifiers. Due to this consistent performance coach Tony Popovich included him in the final 26-man World Cup squad.
Australia played confident football from the start of the match. Nestori Irankunda scored the first goal in the counter attack in the 27th minute of the first half. Türkiye tried to make up for it, but Australia’s defense and a brilliant performance from young goalkeeper Patrick Beach prevented that from happening. In the 75th minute, Conor Metcalf scored the second goal with a powerful shot from outside the box to seal a 2–0 win for Australia.
After the match, Nissan played more in defense than attack. But his debut on the World Cup stage will be a special moment for football fans of Indian origin. After nearly two decades, the World Cup once again saw the presence of a player with Indian roots and Nissan Velupilla became an integral part of this glorious history.
