Nishan Velupillay

Nishan Matthew Velupillay (, ; born 7 May 2001) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for club FC Ingolstadt and the Australia national team.

Early life Velupillay was born on 7 May 2001 in Melbourne. His father, Sasinath, is of Sri Lankan Tamil descent with Malaysian roots, and his mother, Gillian, is Anglo-Indian. and later studied finance, although travel commitments made it difficult to continue.

Velupillay came from a football-following family; his father had played the game, and an older brother played and coached at the football technique school (FTS) that Velupillay attended. He then played for Bentleigh Greens at the under-18 and under-20 levels before progressing to their senior team and earning a four-week trial with Melbourne Victory. In the 2024 finals series, Velupillay scored a late goal in the 88th minute in an elimination final against Melbourne City, to make the scores level and put the match into extra-time. In the 2024-25 season Velupillay became the top goal-scorer for Melbourne Victory in all competitions, and the joint top goal-scorer for the club in the regular season. Unfortunately Velupillay would miss out on playing in the 2025 A-League Grand final against Melbourne City due to an injury.

FC Ingolstadt 04 On 18 August 2026, Velupillay joined FC Ingolstadt 04 of 3. Liga for an undisclosed fee.

International career In October 2024, Velupillay was called up by Australia national coach Tony Popovic ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan. On 10 October, 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.

Further goals from Velupillay for the Socceroos came in the March qualifying window for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He scored in both games that window, first against Indonesia and then followed by China 5 days later, with this being the second time he had scored against the Chinese national team. These two goals were a part of a 6 game scoring streak for Velupillay for club and country.

On 31 May 2026, Velupillay was named in Australia's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He made his World Cup debut on 13 June 2026 against Turkey, coming on in the 61st minute of a 2–0 win. He was reported as the first player of Tamil heritage, and the first of Malaysian descent, to appear at a FIFA World Cup.

Career statistics

Club statistics

Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals

2021

5 2

5 2 2022

Individual Young Player of the Year: 2021–22