Meet the Four Indian-Origin Players Set to Feature at the FIFA World Cup 2026
India was nowhere near qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026 but all the Indian football fans will cheer not one but four Indian origin players, who are all set to play this World Cup in North America. Before this edition, 2006 was the one & only edition in which an Indian-origin player,Vikash Dhorasoo, represented France.
These are the four representing this edition:
Sarpreet Singh - New Zealand
He became quite a common name among Indian-origin footballers when he signed for German giant Bayern Munich back in 2019, even though, he spent most of his time with their reserve side and made just two Bundesliga appearances. The 27-year-old midfielder was born in Wellington and has made 24 appearances for New Zealand. And, without a doubt, it is safe to say that he is going to play a key part for his national side, which will play in a World Cup after 16 long years.
New Zealand have played in the World Cup twice but never crossed the group stage. This time, they will also face competition in group G along with Belgium, Egypt and Iran.
NZL fixture: 16 Jun: vs Iran | 06:30 IST, 22 Jun: vs Egypt | 06:30 IST & 27 Jun: vs Belgium | 08:30 IST
Samuel Moutoussamy - DR Congo
29-year-old defensive midfielder, Samuel Moutoussamy, was born in Paris. His mother is Congolese while his father has roots in South India. He debuted for Congo National Team in 2019 and has become a crucial member of their squad since. As Dr Congo are going to play in a FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1974, his ball holding capability and defensive strength as a defensive midfielder might play a role.
They were unable to progress beyond the group stage in their sole World Cup appearance losing all 3 games. This time, they are grouped with Colombia, Portugal and debutants Uzbekistan.
DRC fixture: 17 Jun: vs Portugal | 22:30 IST, 24 Jun: vs Colombia | 07:30 IST & 28 Jun: vs Uzbekistan | 05:00 IST
Tahsin Jamshid - Qatar
The 19-year-old talented winger Tahsin Jamshid was born in Doha, the capital of Qatar, after his parents moved there in 1996. He was also a part of Qatar's U16, U17 side before and now all set to represent the country on the biggest stage. He debuted for the senior team in a match against Afghanistan in the World Cup Qualifiers. He will be hoping to at least get past the group stage this time. Qatar are in Group B with Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Switzerland.
QAT fixture: 14 Jun: v Switzerland | 00:30 IST, 19 Jun: v Bosnia | 03:30 IST & 25 Jun: v Canada | 00:30 IST
Nishan Velupillay - Australia
25-year-old Nishan Velupillay was born in Melbourne. He's been part of Melbourne Victory since 2021. On 10 October 2024, in the match against China, he came off the bench in the 83rd minute to replace Mitchell Duke to mark off his international debut. 7 minutes later, he scored his first international goal to seal a 3–1 win. The Aussies will push hard to make it to the quarter-finals for the first time in a FIFA World Cup. Their best finish was in Round of 16 at which they have been eliminated twice.
They are grouped with Turkiye, USA, Paraguay
AUS fixture: 14 Jun: Turkiye | 09:30 IST, 20 Jun: USA | 00:30 IST & 26 Jun: Paraguay | 07:30 IST
Comments (0)
to post comments, replies, and votes.
Loading comments…
