Socceroos captain Mat Ryan was just as shocked as the rest of Australia when head coach Tony Popovic picked Patrick Beach over him for the World Cup in North America, admitting he’s “hurting” having to watch the illustrious campaign from the bench for the first time since 2010.
Ryan has stayed largely quiet about the selection since Australia’s win over Türkiye, but this week has said he still wants to play if he can.
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“Everyone wants to play, I think if anyone’s not hurting that’s not playing, then they shouldn’t be here,” he said.
Maybe it hurts worse considering Ryan was considered a shoe-in for the spot and only discovered he had been overlooked for another option quite close to the team’s opener at Vancouver Stadium.
“The boss pulled me aside… he told me I hadn’t done anything wrong, he just had a gut feeling that he wanted to play Beachy,” Ryan revealed.
Going into the tournament Beach had played just two international games. Ryan has played 104, and has been incredible for Levante UD in La Liga. The 34-year-old is also obviously the reigning squad captain and would have again worn the armband if he’d made it onto the field.
Now, the shotstopper is just working on earning his way back in.
“It’s good to be disappointed, but it’s about how you channel that disappointment and not detrimenting [sic] the team,” he said.
“It’s important in these situations that you keep pushing, everyone within the squad is in competition for spots… the guys that aren’t getting the nod at the minute are pushing [the players that have been selected] and keeping them sharp to make sure they are on the top of their game.
“I feel good and if needed then I’ll do my best.
“Unfortunately for me personally he’s gone with [Beach] the first two games and that’s the way it goes,” he added.
“I’m just staying focussed on what I can control. I’m ready if called upon.”
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This isn’t the first time Popovic has gone with someone else over Ryan either, with Joe Gaucci playing most of the World Cup qualifiers.
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Whether that bodes ill for Ryan breaking back into the first-choice line up remains to be seen, though he did make it clear that Beach had a “phenomenal” game against Türkiye and couldn’t have done much to change either goal in Australia’s 2–0 loss to hosts the U.S. on Sunday.
Next up, the Socceroos play Paraguay in what shapes as a crucial battle in Group D. As it stands, we will need to get at least a point against the South American representatives to go through in second place behind the U.S. Should things go against Australia and we lose, there’s a chance we can still play through in third place thanks to the new World Cup rules.
It’s likely Popovic picks Beach again, but never say never considering his selections at the tournament so far and his predilection for surprises.
Australia face Paraguay on Friday, 26 June at 12PM Sydney time.
