Mat Ryan fails to save Australia as Egypt win World Cup shootout 4-2 in Dallas

Egypt eliminated Australia from the 2026 World Cup on Friday, winning a penalty shootout 4-2 at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium in Dallas after the two sides could not be separated at 1-1 following extra time.

With just moments remaining in the additional 30 minutes, Australia made the bold call to replace first-choice goalkeeper Patrick Beach with 34-year-old Mat Ryan — a specialist brought on specifically for the shootout. The gamble did not pay off. Egypt converted all four of their spot kicks, while Australia missed two, sending the Pharaohs through to the next round.

Ryan is a familiar name to followers of European football. The New South Wales-born stopper has represented Arsenal, Brighton, Valencia and Real Sociedad during a career spanning the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A with AS Roma, and Ligue 1 with Lens. Despite earning more than 100 caps for Australia, he has fallen out of favour under head coach Tony Popovic, who initially turned to Aston Villa’s Joe Gauci as his number one.

This was not the first time Ryan has been involved in a high-stakes shootout substitution for the Socceroos. At the 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off against Peru, Ryan was himself replaced in the 120th minute by Andrew Redmayne, whose unconventional antics helped Australia secure qualification — though Ryan was on the losing end of that particular swap.

The tactic of switching goalkeepers before a shootout has precedent at the highest level. Louis van Gaal famously replaced Jasper Cillessen with Tim Krul during the Netherlands’ 2014 World Cup quarter-final against Costa Rica, and it worked — the Dutch won 4-3 on penalties. Australia’s attempt to replicate that moment of managerial ingenuity, however, ended in disappointment.