Who is Sarpreet Singh? First player of Indian origin to start a FIFA World Cup match

New Zealand’s Sarpreet Singh (10) fights for the ball (AP Photo/Andre Penner) NEW DELHI: New Zealand midfielder Sarpreet Singh has created history by becoming the first player of Indian origin to start a FIFA World Cup match. Coach Darren Bazeley believed in him until he was substituted in the 90th minute. New Zealand next face Egypt on June 21 in Vancouver.

Who is Sarpreet Singh?

Born in Auckland to Punjabi parents, the 27-year-old was named in the starting XI for New Zealand’s Group G match against Iran in Los Angeles. He played almost the entire game in the No.10 shirt and had three attempts on goal as the game ended in a 2–2 draw.Sarpreet earlier played for India during the 2018 Intercontinental Cup in Mumbai where he featured against Sunil Chhetri and even scored against Kenya. He also provided two assists in New Zealand’s win over India, although the home team went on to win the title.In 2019, Sarpreet became the first player of Indian origin to appear in the German top division when he made his debut for Bayern Munich.Brilliant performances from the reserves helped him earn a first-team opportunity under Hans Flick and he later became part of Bayern’s Bundesliga-winning side. After spells in Portugal and Serbia, he returned to New Zealand this year and recovered from injury to secure a place in the 26-man World Cup squad there.Prior to this tournament, French midfielder Vikash Dhorasoo was the only player of Indian origin to play in a World Cup, making a brief appearance as a substitute in 2006. Two days before Sarpreet’s milestone, Australia’s Nishan Velupillay also made his World Cup debut after coming off the bench against Turkey.

More players of Indian origin in the spotlight

Three other players of Indian origin are part of this year’s World Cup squads, Nishan Velupillay of Australia, Samuel Moutoussamy of DR Congo and Tahsin Mohammed Jamshid of Qatar. Nishan Velupillay came on as a substitute in Australia’s historic 2-1 win over Turkey. Tahsin was unused in Qatar’s 1-1 draw against Switzerland, while Moutoussamy could play against Portugal.According to FIFA rules, a player can represent a country if a parent or grandparent was born there and the player holds that country’s passport.