Sarpreet Singh Set for 2026 World Cup With New Zealand
Sarpreet Singh is set to play for New Zealand at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder brings 24 senior caps and a route that has already taken him from Auckland to Bayern Munich and now Serbian club football with TSC.
He is one of four players with family origins in India set to feature at the 2026 World Cup. For a player whose family hails from Jalandhar, Punjab, that place in the tournament reaches beyond one squad list.
Singh’s Auckland-to-Europe path
Singh was born in Auckland to parents whose family hails from Jalandhar, Punjab, and he described his background in simple terms: “I'm from a very typical Punjabi family with a lot of uncles and aunties and cousins,” he told Sportstar.
His international path started early. He represented New Zealand at the FIFA U-20 World Cups in 2017 and 2019, then made his senior debut in 2018. By the time Bayern Munich signed him from Wellington Phoenix in 2019, he had already been marked as a player New Zealand wanted to keep in its system.
India-linked players at 2026
Singh is not the only name in that group. Tahirn Mohammed Jamshid, a Qatar winger, and Samuel Moutoussamy, a DR Congo player, are also set to feature at the 2026 World Cup, giving the event four players with family origins in India.
That detail sits against a larger absence. India’s men’s national team has never played at the FIFA World Cup, even as the sport’s reach in the country has been enormous. FIFA’s figures from the 2022 World Cup showed around 745 million people in India engaged with the tournament across television, digital and social media platforms, with nearly 84 million watching matches on television.
TSC and New Zealand
For New Zealand, Singh’s role is straightforward: a senior international with a European club résumé and a World Cup berth. For supporters following the Indian-origin connection, his route is the clearest line in the group — Auckland-born, capped 24 times, and heading to the 2026 World Cup with the All Whites.
