'Smiling since last night': Community joy after Irankunda's World Cup goal

The family and community of Nestory Irankunda are "very emotional" after his World Cup debut, where he became the youngest Socceroos player to kick a goal in the event.

The 20-year-old, from Adelaide's northern suburbs, scored the opening goal against Türkiye on Sunday, helping Australia secure a momentous 2-0 victory in its first World Cup game.

The Tanzanian-born star is among five Adelaide players who made it into this year's World Cup squad alongside Tete Yengi, Mo Touré, Awer Mabil and Paul Izzo.

His cousin Vianne Kurikwimana told 891 ABC Adelaide on Monday morning it was a "very, very emotional" moment to witness alongside Irankunda's father, Gideon Rurandagaye.

"We started celebrating when he was just about to shoot and everything just … went dark, we were just jumping around," Mr Kurikwimana said from Vancouver, where the pair travelled to watch the match.

"Gideon was very emotional, [it's the] very first time I've ever seen him this emotional in my life."

Mr Rurandagaye said he was incredibly proud of his son, adding that all the practice over the years — which included some broken windows around the house — had paid off.

"Sometimes I teach him in the park and home, I show him some things … sometimes he broke windows and glasses in the home … very naughty,"

he said.

Adelaide United coach Airton Andrioli said he had identified something unique about Irankunda when he first met him.

"The description of his father saying that he was a bit naughty, I can say that I agree with that because he was a bit of a handful to handle," Mr Andrioli said.

"I didn't feel that as a problem. I saw that if that can be guided in the right direction, into the right channel, then it can be a good recipe with all the other attributes he already had."

Mr Andrioli said Irankunda had already "inspired many kids to be like him" during his time at the club.

"He already made it because he was inspiring other players and other kids to look up to him and to become somebody like him," he said.

"Then, he went from that position to going overseas and now scoring yesterday ... it's a credit to him."

Mr Kurikwimana said his family were incredibly grateful for the support it had received from the community, including in Adelaide's northern suburbs where Irankunda played local soccer and attended school.

"There's a lot of people I could name that helped our families, whether that was financially, transport … even if it was helping with equipment we didn't have," he said.

"I was forever grateful and I guess for their help, their blessing is seeing this at the big stage."

Community celebrates homegrown talent

African Communities Council of SA chairperson Denis Yengi said the win represented "more than football".

"I have been smiling since last night, and I'm not sure when it's going to stop," Mr Yengi said.

"These guys are all from our community here, and so we are really so proud to see our community excelling on the global stage."

Alvina Kamara was among thousands of South Australian fans who gathered in the city to cheer on the Socceroos.

She said she was overjoyed by the victory.

"It's just so proud not just for Australia, not just for us, just the whole African community, it's just amazing to see how far they've come," Ms Kamara said.