SEATTLE — Australia captain Maty Ryan has said he is hurting to be sat behind Patrick Beach in the Socceroos goal after a “gut feeling” informed coach Tony Popovic’s move to go with the youngster.
However, the centurion has emphasised that the collective comes first in the Socceroos, with no place for subversives.
Alongside his vice-captain Jackson Irvine, Ryan was one of the shock omissions from the Australian XI that faced Türkiye in their opening group match, with Popovic and goalkeeping coach Frank Juric opting to go with the Melbourne City custodian instead.
With Ryan having started every World Cup game the Socceroos have played since the start of the 2014 tournament and having just played a pivotal role in keeping Levante in La Liga, it represented a significant gamble to go with the twice-capped Beach. But he more than justified his place, keeping a clean sheet in a 2-0 win and recording, per Opta, the highest goals prevented of any keeper across matchday one.
“Everyone wants to play,” Ryan told media following Australia’s 2-0 loss to the United States. “If anyone’s not hurting, that’s not playing in the squad, then they shouldn’t be here. I’m no different.
“It’s important in this scenario that you keep pushing, everyone within the squad, so there’s competition for spots. And the guys that are getting the nods at the minute, the guys that aren’t are pushing them and keeping them sharp to make sure they’re the top of their game.
“When the boys who haven’t been playing regularly get thrown in, you’ve got to be there to take the opportunity. It’s important that everyone is in it collectively; we put the team first. It’s good to be disappointed, but it’s about how you channel that disappointment and not [being a] detriment the team.
“We’ve always been pretty good within the Socceroo squad and set up that any personalities that kind of don’t match with that, they’re not in here.”
The World Cup marks the second time that Popovic has benched Ryan since he took over as Australia boss in 2024, rolling with Joe Gauci, who spent the past season on loan at Port Vale from Aston Villa, in his first three games in charge before going back to the 34-year-old.
And the 104 cap veteran said that Beach’s ascension had followed a similar pattern, with the decision not based on what Ryan hadn’t done but, instead, what his challenger offered.
“The boss, he pulled me aside before the first game, like the time when he played Joey over me, and he just told me that I haven’t done anything wrong or anything, but he just has a gut feeling that he wants to play Beachy,” Ryan said.
“It was the same when he said he wanted to play Joey. I respect that he told me about it, and that was his thing. That’s the way it goes. I’m ready, I feel good, and if needed, then I’ll do my best. But, unfortunately for me personally, he’s gone with [Beach] in the first two games. But that’s the way it goes.”
The keeper’s union is a strong one in the Socceroos — even with the competition taking place between Ryan, Beach, and Paul Izzo — and the newly-minted starter has welcomed the support he’s received from his teammates, describing them as “excellent.”
Ryan, for his part, was celebrating hand-in-hand with Beach following the win over Türkiye and praised the young keeper’s strong start to his career.
“The biggest indication is that football always does the talking,” Ryan said.
“He’s done a great job the other night there against Turkey and [against the U.S.] what he could do, he did. They were difficult scenarios, the goals that he conceded.
“But he’s someone that, from the outside, when watching him go about his stuff, he’s very composed, he’s very calm, he looks very assured of himself, and he has that confidence there. He’s had a really good start to his professional career, and you see that he’s got that, you know, strong, strong mentality, and the willingness to want to learn and grow, and he’s handling himself really well under the circumstances.”
