Nestory Irankunda bolsters stocks after stellar qualifying campaign

By James Kleeman

Oct 10, 2022

On the offensive: Joeys star Nestory Irankunda enjoyed a superb Asian Cup qualifying campaign, including a brace in Australia’s clash with China. Photo by Megan Fisher

In the short space of five days Nestory Irankunda has well and truly staked his claim for regular football with club and country.

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From a five-goal haul on debut to a brace and man-of-the-match performance against China on Sunday, the Joeys’ forward livewire set Shepparton’s McEwen Reserve alight and helped steer Australia to AFC U17 Asian Cup qualification.

With a strong home crowd getting behind the Joeys on Sunday, the Adelaide United talent expressed how grateful he was for the home support.

“I kept cool, I found it really easy to play ... it was amazing for them to come out here, especially in Shepparton, I’m really happy they all came out and supported the team throughout the whole game,” Irankunda said.

An eye-catching backflip celebration after his successful first-half penalty wowed a captivated McEwen Reserve crowd and the iconic photo taken in that moment has since captured the attention of football fans across the country.

“I’ve had these celebrations since I was younger and at my old clubs, Croatia Raiders, all the other teams I’ve played for,” he said.

“Croatia is where I started doing my flips and everything.

“But my performance I thought was good, I’m happy to get the two goals and I was happy to help out the team.”

A star of the qualifying campaign and no doubt a key figure when the side makes the trip to Bahrain, Irankunda said the team had relished the opportunity to gel and get games under the belt over the course of the tournament.

“I was really happy and the whole team was happy that we’ve qualified now to play for the Asian Cup,” he said.

“It’s something we wanted to happen from the start, we didn’t really know each other, but now it feels like we’re family and we’ve only been together for a month.

“I really liked it (the tournament), I love coming out here and playing, it’s quite difficult when I’m far from my family, but I just try and keep cool.

“I’m just really happy to be playing.”

The 16-year-old’s focus will now shift back to his Adelaide duties, he said, with first-team football the goal as the A-League season ramps up.

“I’ll try and get back and get myself 100 per cent for a spot in the squad,” he said.

“I’m trying to play games and pushing to get that spot on the bench or in the starting line-up.”