Australian winger Nishan Velupillay was born to a father with Sri Lankan Tamil heritage and an Anglo-Indian mother. He became the first Indian-origin player in two decades to play in the FIFA World Cup—following France's Vikash Dhorasoo—when he replaced goalscorer Nestory Irankunda in the 60th minute of the game in Vancouver, Canada.
Nishan Velupillay has made 138 appearances for Melbourne Victory since his breakthrough in 2021, scoring 25 goals and providing 14 assists. He became a first-team regular during the 2021/22 FFA Cup-winning season and was chosen as Victory’s 'Young Player of the Year.' Registering 12 goals and nine assists in all competitions for Victory, Velupillay’s 2024/25 season was his best to date, enabling him to claim the 'Victory Golden Boot: 2025' award.
The 25-year-old has eight caps for the Socceroos, contributing three goals and one assist. It was an incredible 2024 Australia Cup campaign that ensured Velupillay a call-up to Australia’s World Cup qualifying squad, where he managed to score on his debut off the bench against China.
Ahead of his World Cup debut, his last appearance in the national colours was a 23-minute stint against Mexico on May 31.
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Dhorasoo was a midfielder who got a total of eight minutes on the field for runners-up France in the 2006 German edition of the tournament. He got six minutes against Switzerland, before taking the field for a couple of minutes against South Korea. By the looks of it, Velupillay is likely to be more involved in Australia's plans for the tournament.
Australia vs Türkiye: As it happened
Australia spoiled Turkey's return to the World Cup stage after 24 years by securing a 2-0 victory in their Group D opener, courtesy of goals from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe.
Australia got the opener on the break when Irankunda controlled a ball over the top, took it past a defender and finished inside the near post in the 27th minute.
Australia's resolute defence repelled all of Turkey's attacks and the Socceroos doubled their lead in the 75th minute when midfielder Metcalfe collected the ball around 20 yards out and swept it home. The result puts Australia second in the group behind the United States after the co-hosts' 4-1 win over Paraguay on Friday.
