Panaji: When New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley arrived in Wellington to inform players who had made it to the FIFA World Cup 2026 squad, Sarpreet Singh had terrible butterflies.The Wellington Phoenix midfielder with roots in Jalandhar, Punjab, was a regular for New Zealand during the World Cup qualifiers but picked up a knee injury on his return to his boyhood club from Serbia earlier this year. In his first game, he was floored by a strong tackle and was out of action since mid-February.Bazeley’s words before the official announcement helped settle his nerves.“You’re always a little bit anxious (due to injury), but once coach said I’ll be going to the World Cup, it was an amazing feeling,” Sarpreet told TOI over a video call. “It’s a huge honour. Think a boy who grew up in New Zealand, obviously with my background, being Indian, it’s quite a proud moment for myself, for my family.”When New Zealand march out for the much talked about World Cup opener against Iran in Los Angeles on June 15, Sarpreet will count himself among a handful of players of Indian origin — and the first Sikh footballer — to have made it so far.“I’ve had quite a few people tell me that I am the first Sikh footballer at the World Cup. I carry a huge responsibility and pride, representing my culture, my people. To be the first is very special. I also want to pave way for the next generation, so we have more from the Indian community coming through and being able to play on the world stage. I want to be a role model, try and lift the name higher,” said Sarpreet, who has now recovered from a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury.In a country where rugby and cricket are the two most popular sport, Sarpreet’s parents introduced him to football, enrolling him at the Wynrs Wynton Rufer Soccer academy aged seven. Since then, it’s been a steady rise as he made his senior team debut in the Australian top tier at 16, showed potential and was later scouted by German giants Bayern Munich.Sarpreet has represented New Zealand at youth and senior level, featuring at the FIFA U-20 World Cups in 2017 and 2019, as well as the Paris 2024 Olympics. Now he will be at the biggest stage of them all.“I’ve played a big role within the national team for the last couple of years. Every time I’ve played for the national team, I’ve done well. But it’s football, you have to always be at a high level to get selected. The injury (in February) didn’t help but once I knew my timeframes, I did everything I could to recover,” said Sarpreet.At the World Cup, New Zealand are the lowest-ranked side in group G at 85, with Belgium (world no. 9), Iran (21) and Egypt (29) favourites to make it to the knockout stage. Sarpreet knows it will be challenging but fancies his side will give the others a run for their reputation.“Our biggest goal is to try and get out of the group. It’s a very tough group, but it’s the World Cup, every team has a high standard. We might go a little bit under the radar for some people, but hopefully we can deliver the performances and do something special,” said Sarpreet.This will be New Zealand’s third appearance at the World Cup after 1982 and 2010.Despite exiting at the group stage in South Africa, the team collected three straight draws against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay and they will be targeting a first win and knockout stage progression on their return to the sport’s top table.India will watch keenly, and cheer someone they can call their own.
