Nishan Velupillay feeling ‘privileged’ after scoring in his first appearance for the Socceroos

A surprise selection in the Socceroos squad showed why he was picked in Australia’s 3-1 win over China.

A goal on his Socceroos debut was the icing on the cake for Melbourne Victory star Nishan Velupillay, who felt “privileged” just to be part of Australia’s squad for the first time.

The bolter in new Socceroos coach Tony Popovic’s squad, Velupillay, 23, made the most of his opportunity on Thursday night at Adelaide Oval, scoring in stoppage time in Australia’s 3-1 win over China after coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute for striker Mitch Duke.

“It all happened very quickly,” Velupillay said in reflecting on his stoppage-time goal that sealed the Socceroos a much-needed win in the FIFA World Cup qualifier.

“I was busy appealing for a penalty for ‘Aido’ (teammate Aiden O’Neill), but then the ball just fell to me, and I was like ‘all right, have a swing at it and see what happens’.

“Thankfully, it went in, and it was good to see all the boys get around me, and the fact that we got a win is really good as well.

“It means a lot. I’m happy that my debut went like that.”

A dream debut for Nish 🤩

He added the finishing touches on our win to seal the points in stoppage time ⏱️

🎥 @10FootballAU#AUSvCHN#Socceroospic.twitter.com/2JFfJhldZx

— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) October 10, 2024

Attacking weapon Velupillay said Popovic, his former Victory coach, had given him the “freedom” to make his own decisions on the ball but to remain “disciplined” in his defensive structure.

“That’s what I did, and that’s what we did, and we got the result,” he said in praising the Socceroos’ “resilience” after going a goal down in the first half.

“It was a goal against the run of play but to bounce back and keep playing the same style of football is really good. We scored three goals and we got the result, which is good.

“I’m privileged to be here, and it’s gone well so far. I feel very honoured to play for Australia.”

Lewis Miller and Craig Goodwin also scored for the Australians, who now face the tough task of getting the better of Japan in Saitama on Tuesday night.

Socceroos defender Harry Souttar said his side would take confidence into the clash after beating China.

“They’re a good team but we’re also a good team, so it’s going to be a really good game,” Souttar said.

“If we want to get to where we want to get to, these are the games we’ve got to go to try to get a result in.”

Japan has a perfect record of nine points from three Group C games in the third round of the AFC qualifiers, with their latest success being a 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Friday morning (AEDT).

The Socceroos are one of three Group C teams five points adrift of Japan.

The teams that finish in the top two of the three third-round AFC qualifying groups are guaranteed spots in the 2026 World Cup.

Originally published as Nishan Velupillay feeling ‘privileged’ after scoring in his first appearance for the Socceroos