New Zealand attacking midfielder Sarpreet Singh became the first footballer of Indian origin to start a FIFA World Cup match in his team’s 2-2 draw against Iran in their group match in Los Angeles on Tuesday (June 16, 2026).
Born in Auckland to Punjabi parents, the 27-year-old Sarpreet made his World Cup debut in the politically-charged match and had a few attempts at the Iranian goal. He was named in the starting XI by head coach Darren Bazeley and played almost the whole match, substituted only in the 90th minute.
New Zealand coach Bazeley kept faith in Sarpreet till the end as Iran came back twice from a goal down to play out a 2-2 draw. Wearing No. 10 jersey, Sarpreet had three shots at the Iranian goal, including one in the 61st minute which, however, could not beat the Iran goalkeeper.
He operated in the middle of the park in New Zealand’s 4-2-3-1 formation. New Zealand face Egypt in their second Group G match on June 21 in Vancouver.
Two days back, Nishan Velupillay of Australia, another player of Indian descent, made his World Cup debut in his team’s 2-0 win over Turkiye in Vancouver, Canada. The 25-year-old winger was not in the starting line-up and came in from the bench in the 60th minute.
Velupillay was born in Melbourne to an Anglo-Indian mother and a Malaysian father of Sri Lankan Tamil descent.
Before this edition of the FIFA World Cup jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, Vikash Dhorasoo of France was the only player of Indian descent to have played a World Cup game. The midfielder, now 52 years old, played two group matches in the 2006 World Cup in Germany where France finished runners-up.
But Dhorasoo, whose forefathers had their roots in Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, actually played just a few minutes combined in the two matches. He came in from the bench in the 84th minute in France’s 0-0 draw against Switzerland on June 13, 2006. Five days later, Dhorasoo came in as a substitute in the 88th minute in the 1-1 draw against South Korea.
Sarpreet played in India in 2018
Sarpreet even played in India during the Intercontinental Cup in 2018 in Mumbai. He played against the likes of Sunil Chhetri after making his NZ debut earlier that year. He was part of a U23 development side, as New Zealand did not send the first team.
Sarpreet scored against Kenya and provided both the assists in New Zealand’s 2–1 win against India. India won the title while NZ finished third in the four-nation tournament.
One year later, Sarpreet became the first player of Indian descent to play in the German first division league when he debuted for Bayern Munich in 2019. He joined the club from Australian A-League side Wellington Phoenix. He came on as a substitute against Werder Bremen.
Initially, Sarpreet was with Bayern’s reserve team in the third division, but his impressive performances earned him a first-team debut under then-manager Hansi Flick.
Sarpreet made his first senior start for Bayern Munich on June 20, 2020, against SC Freiburg. He was part of the squad that won the Bundesliga title in 2019-2020 season.
After his stint in Germany, Sarpreet was with Uniao de Leiria in Portugal for one season before moving to Serbian SuperLiga side FK TSC in 2025.
This year, he returned to New Zealand, playing in the A-League for Phoenix on loan from FK TSC.
He suffered an injury in February, sidelining him for eight weeks but returned on the field in April before making the New Zealand World Cup squad of 26. He has earned 24 international caps for NZ and scored three times.
Sarpreet also played for New Zealand at the 2017 and 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cups.
Two other Indian-origin players
Two more Indian-origin players — Samuel Moutoussamy of DR Congo and Tahsin Mohammed Jamshid of Qatar— are in their respective World Cup squads. Tahsin did not play in Qatar’s 1-1 draw against Switzerland on June 13, while it will have to be seen whether Moutoussamy features in DR Congo’s match against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on Wednesday (June 17).
Tahsin, who turns 20 on Tuesday (June 16), was born in Doha to Malayali parents, who moved to Qatar from Kannur in 2006.
The 29-year-old Moutoussamy was born in France to a Congolese mother and Indo-Guadeloupean father of Tamil origin. Indo-Guadeloupeans are mostly descendants of indentured workers who came mostly from South India in the late 19th century.
Under FIFA rules, a player is eligible to play for a national team if a biological mother, biological father, or grandparent was born on that country’s territory. The player should also hold the passport of the country he is representing.
Published – June 16, 2026 03:20 pm IST
