Nestory Irankunda: From refugee camp to Australia's World Cup hero

In the 27th minute of Australia's 2026 World Cup opener against Turkey at BC Place, Canada, on June 14, Irankunda sprinted from the left wing to receive a long pass from a teammate. He cut inside, losing veteran center-back Medih Demiral while maintaining excellent balance in the penalty area. He then shot with his right foot, sending the ball just wide of the left post, to open the scoring in a 2-0 victory.

Australia's Nestory Irankunda (17) celebrates scoring the first goal against Turkey during the World Cup Group D football match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, June 14, 2026. Photo by AP

Australia won their first World Cup opening match in 20 years, while the 2006-born striker became the youngest Australian player to score at the World Cup.

However, long before this moment of brilliance, the African-born striker was already considered a prodigy, with the potential to become the best player in Australian history.

From 1993 to 2005, the war in Burundi forced many to leave their homes, including driver Gideon Irankunda. In late 2005, he fled east with his wife and children to a refugee camp in neighboring Tanzania. His son, Nestory, was born there on Feb. 9, 2006, according to SportStar.

Three months later, the family migrated to Perth, Australia, before moving to Adelaide, where Nestory developed a passion for football.

In 2016, Nestory already became the talk of the town among the African-Australian community in Adelaide. Passionate about football, Lidia Inarukundo, a Burundi immigrant who had lived in Australia for 20 years, was curious to see the young football sensation firsthand. She was immediately captivated.

Unlike Gideon and his wife, Lidia saw Nestory's star potential. She advised the family to enroll Nestory in local club Adelaide Croatia Raiders, but they refused.

It was not until Lidia promised to drive the boy to training every day, even buying him boots and paying the registration fees, that the couple was convinced. "Without this woman, my life would have taken a different turn," Nestory held in a 2023 interview, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Lidia Inarukund (L) poses with Nestory Irankunda (L, 3rd), his sister and father as he transfers from Adelaide United to Bayern Munich in July 2024. Photo by Instagram/nestory._

Nestory alleges that he inherited his football talent from his father Gideon, whose dream of becoming a professional footballer never materialized.

During the tryouts for the Adelaide Croatia Raiders U11 team, manager Peter Kulas also recognized Nestory's talent. With two decades of youth football experience in southern Australia under his belt, he said he had never seen a player with such potential, possessing unparalleled strength demonstrated through speed and shooting power.

"When he was in the U12 or U13 age group, Nestory's shot once broke a goalkeeper's arm," Kulas said, as reported by Adelaide Now. "That kid went around telling everyone that Nestory had broken his arm, as if it were an honorary badge."

Nestory’s exceptional strength led to suspicions of age fraud, with whispers from other kids’ parents every match. Kulas stood up for his player, but the young Nestory never seemed fazed to begin with.

At 14 years old, Nestory began playing for the U18 team and made a name for himself after a 2019 match. The next day, Adelaide United announced they would sign him later that year.

In the stands, manager Airton Andriolli, now head of the club’s youth academy, commended: "He’s like a piece of gold, but you have to scrape away some dirt and pebbles to make sure he can shine."

In January 2022, Nestory, nicknamed Nestor, made his Australian A-League debut at the age of 15, becoming the sixth youngest player in the league’s history. A few weeks later, he scored his first goal from a free kick in injury time of the second half, helping Adelaide beat Newcastle 2-1. The goal made Nestor the second youngest scorer at 15 years and 355 days old, 30 days younger than Mohamed Toure, another African-origin player. A year later, Nestory became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the A-League.

Australia's Nestory Irankunda (17) drives past Turkey's Ismail Yuksek (16) during the World Cup Group D football match between Australia and Turkey in Vancouver, British Columbia, June 13, 2026. Photo by AP

In 2025, the International Centre for Sport Studies in Switzerland ranked the 2006-born striker among the world’s top 100 U20 players.

Nestory scored 16 goals in 61 matches after three seasons in Adelaide's first team. He joined Bayern Munich in mid-2024, but finding a place in one of Europe's top clubs proved difficult.

After six months in Germany, Nestory was loaned to Grasshopper in Switzerland for the remainder of the season. In mid-2025, he joined Watford in the English Championship on a five-year contract, scoring four goals in 37 games in his first season.

His volatile temperament, emotional nature, and lack of professionalism once held Nestory back and led to warnings from Adelaide managers. In 2024, manager Tony Vidmar excluded the striker from the U23 Asian Championship and the Paris Olympics to avoid additional pressure.

Vidmar argued that caution was needed in using Nestory, given the immense expectations placed upon him over the years.

Nestory had previously been called up to the national team in March 2023 but only made his debut a year later against Bangladesh in Asia’s second qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup. The long wait was interspersed with disappointment and controversy, as he made public his consideration to play for the Burundi national team.

Now that he has found stability in the Australian national team, managers from Graham Arnold to Tony Popovich have acknowledged that the young talent is maturing.

Witnessing his goal against Turkey, former international Mark Milligan said: "From the very beginning, I got to see him on a daily basis and knew the ability and talent that he had.

"That was something you don't see very often and it's so nice to see him now, developing those other parts of his game as well. We knew he had that flair and explosiveness, but that discipline we're seeing now," Milligan said on SBS.