Refugee who quit Bayern to create Aussie World Cup dream

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Irankunda honours Cahill after scoring Australia opener By Chris McKenna BBC Sport journalist Published 20 minutes ago Nestory Irankunda may have wrote his name into Australia football history books but he was a player already creating his own remarkable story. The 20-year-old Watford forward became the youngest scorer in the World Cup for the Socceroos when he netted their opener in a 2-0 win over Turkey in Vancouver. "It is unreal and a dream come true," Irankunda said shortly after full-time. But it is just the latest step on an incredible journey for the once refugee who just a year ago was learning from Harry Kane at Bayern Munich. Irankunda was born in a Tanzania refugee camp in 2006 to Burundi parents who had fled their homeland due to a civil war. He was still a young child when they moved to the country he now represents on the biggest stage of world football. Irankunda found football in Australia and eventually came through the ranks at Adelaide United in the A-League. After 16 goals and eight assists for the senior side, an eye-catching move to Bayern followed in 2024. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Australia upset Turkey in World Cup opener Bold decision to leave Bayern There was never a first-team appearance in Germany but there was plenty of time on the training pitch with some of the best players in the world, including England striker Kane. Yet those lack of minutes threatened his dream. That was to play for Australia at this World Cup. He had made his debut in a World Cup qualifier in June 2024 against Bangladesh and became the second youngest scorer in the country's history when he netted against Palestine in just his second appearance. After a loan spell at Swiss side Grasshopper last season, he had a decision to make in the summer. It wasn't an easy one when the opportunity came to move to Watford for an undisclosed fee and leave the Bundesliga giants but he needed to play if he was to get his World Cup chance having fallen out of the Australia squad. "It was a hard decision but obviously my biggest goal for me is to play at the World Cup," Irankunda told Sky Sports last summer , external . "The 2026 World Cup is around the corner and I have to play minutes, I wasn't playing minutes. "It has always been a dream of mine to play in England." He has been called "Houdini" by team-mate Mohamed Toure and said he could have the same impact on Australia as Jude Bellingham on England. "I've seen a lot of good players but sometimes you have a special talent and he's that," added Toure. "If he puts in the work and stays grounded I think he'll go beyond the potential many people already say he has. He'll surpass that." Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Irankunda replicated Tim Cahill's iconic celebration with the corner flag Irankunda makes hi