Velupillay in 2023
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Nishan Matthew Velupillay[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 7 May 2001 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Melbourne Victory | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Endeavour United | |||||||||||||||||
| Glen Eira FC | |||||||||||||||||
| Bentleigh Greens | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Melbourne Victory NPL | 17 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Melbourne Victory | 128 | (19) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Australia U23 | 14 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Australia | 9 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19 June 2026 |
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Nishan Matthew Velupillay (Tamil: நிஷான் மேத்யூ வேலுப்பிள்ளை, pronounced [niːʃɑːn ʋeːlupːiɭɭai];[3] born 7 May 2001) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Melbourne Victory and the Australia national team.[4]
Early life
Velupillay was born on 7 May 2001 in Melbourne.[5] His father, Sasinath Velupillay, is a Malaysian of Sri Lankan Tamil descent, and his mother, Gillian, is Anglo-Indian.[6][5] He grew up in Melbourne, where he attended Mazenod College in Mulgrave,[7] and later studied finance, although travel commitments made it difficult to continue.[8]
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.[8] The family supported Melbourne Victory, and as a child Velupillay was in the crowd for the club's 6–0 win over Adelaide United in the 2007 A-League Grand Final.[9][8] He began playing at the age of five but took little interest at first, becoming more committed once he started scoring goals.[5] As a youngster he admired attacking players such as Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo.[5]
As a teenager in the FTS program, based at Glen Eira, Velupillay was coached by Jasper Kristensen, who recalled that he showed strong technique and understanding of the game from an early age but was shy and reserved, with "a volcano in there".[5] Velupillay plateaued during his adolescent growth, a stage at which many promising players lose momentum, but he persisted with what Kristensen described as calm and consistent support from his parents, while several of his highly rated contemporaries left the game.[5]
Club career
Early career
Velupillay began playing junior football with Endeavour United before moving to the football technique school (FTS) based at Glen Eira, where his ability soon stood out.[8][10] He then played for Bentleigh Greens at under-18 and under-20 level before progressing to their senior team and earning a four-week trial with Melbourne Victory.[8]
Melbourne Victory
Velupillay signed his first professional contract with Melbourne Victory in 2019. He made his professional debut for the club on 19 May 2021, coming on as a substitute in a 0–2 defeat against Sydney. On 11 December 2021, Velupillay scored his first professional goal, netting the winning goal in a 2–1 win over Adelaide United.[11] In the 2024 finals series Velupillay would score 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.[12] In the 2024-25 season Velupillay would become the clubs top goal-scorer for Melbourne Victory in all competitions and equal 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.[13]
International career
In October 2024, Velupillay was called up by 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.[14] 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.[15][16]
Career statistics
Club statistics
- As of 3 June 2025[update]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Melbourne Victory Youth | 2021[17] | NPL Victoria 3 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | |||
| 2022[17] | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 3 | ||||
| Melbourne Victory | 2020-21 | A-League | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2021-22 | A-League Men | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | 26 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 3 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 28 | 4 | |||
| 2024–25 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | — | 30 | 12 | |||
| 2025–26 | 17 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 114 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 6 | — | 132 | 24 | |||
| Career total | 122 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 6 | — | 141 | 27 | |||
International
- As of match played 19 June 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2025 | 5 | 3 |
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first.
International goals
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 10 October 2024 | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia |  China |
3–1 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 20 March 2025 | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia |  Indonesia |
2–0 | 5–1 | |
| 3. | 25 March 2025 | Hangzhou Sports Park Stadium, Hangzhou, China | China |
2–0 | 2–0 |
Honours
Melbourne Victory
- FFA Cup: 2021
Australia U-23
- WAFF U-23 Championship runner-up: 2024[18]
Individual
- Young Player of the Year: 2021–22[19]
References
- ^ "Squad List: FIFA World Cup 2026: Australia (AUS)" (PDF). FIFA. 3 June 2026. p. 3. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
- ^ "Nishan Velupillay". Melbourne Victory. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPj8zmvCdIx/?igsh=MWJzMXdmZWZob2kwbA==
- ^ "Nishan Velupillay". 20 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f De Silva, Chris (16 May 2025). "Nishan Velupillay, Socceroos' newest goalscoring sensation, has key role in representing South Asian community". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ^ "Football: Nishan's brings tinge of Malaysia to World Cup". The Star. 13 June 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ^ "Nishan Velupillay: The first footballer of Tamil heritage to reach the FIFA World Cup". Astro Ulagam. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ^ a b c d e Hodgson, Michael (3 April 2024). "On the rise in style: Nishan Velupillay". Ultra Football. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ^ Pisani, Sacha (2 November 2023). "'You have to do something!' Meaning behind boyhood Victory fan Velupillay's Rashford celebration". A-Leagues. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ^ "23 under 23: The best young players to look out for this A-League Men's season". ABC News. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Australia - N. Velupillay - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". my.soccerway.com. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ Pisani, Sacha. "Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City, A-League Men, 5th May 2024". A-Leagues. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ jamesdodd (28 May 2025). "Nishan Velupillay injury latest: Victory boss provides update ahead of Grand Final". A-Leagues. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "Popovic includes Volpato in Socceroos selection". 31 May 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
- ^ "Velupillay makes history as first Tamil at a FIFA World Cup". Tamil Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ^ "Nishan pemain warisan Malaysia pertama beraksi di Piala Dunia" [Nishan, first player of Malaysian heritage to play at the World Cup]. Buletin TV3 (in Malay). Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ^ a b "Nishan Velupillay - Player Statistics". GameDay. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "Subway Olyroos' Head Coach, Tony Vidmar has named an extended 26-man squad for the fifth edition of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship – Saudi Arabia 2024". Football Federation Australia. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ^ "News - Jake Brimmer Takes Out Victory Medal". 3 June 2022.
External links
- Nishan Velupillay at Soccerway
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Australia squad – 2026 FIFA World Cup
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