Christian Montegan 
Mat Ryan in action for the Socceroos at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup against India. Photo Credit: Aleksandar Jason/Subway Socceroos
Although he is proud of Australia’s recent victory over Indonesia, Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan isn’t ignoring that the green and gold need to improve.
Tony Popovic’s men looked rattled in the opening 10 minutes of their World Cup qualifier, conceding a penalty before being handed a lifeline after Indonesia’s spot kick rattled the post, opening the door for Australia to run rampant in Sydney.
Eventually, Australia secured an impressive 5-1 win, but they were helped by goalkeeping heroics from Ryan, who made a handful of crucial saves to lead by example.
Despite the three points, the RC Lens shot-stopper is far from satisfied.
“The scoreline flattered us a little bit,” Ryan said. “We can be much better. Our standard, I think we fell short of that, even though we got the result that we did.
“We need to improve on the start because on another day, they could have taken a chance and it could have been a different game.
“It takes good mental strength to weather that storm and to then respond in a strong way. We managed to do that.”
In his pre-match press conference before tackling Indonesia, Popovic insisted that his group was focusing on themselves. However, the arrival of Indonesia’s new coach, Patrick Kluivert, did enough to stifle the Socceroos.
“We did the analysis before the game. We knew that they come out on the front foot and they like to be quite strong,” Ryan stated.
“But the thing that was new was that they obviously have a new manager, so I guess that’s where the doubt was coming into it.”
A special birthday gift from our captain that this young fan won’t ever forget 💚💛
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All class, @MatyRyan 👏
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Group C remains evenly poised, with Australia sitting in second, one point ahead of Saudi Arabia and three points clear of Indonesia, Bahrain and China respectively.
The Aussies will next face China in Hangzhou on Tuesday night at 10pm AEDT, in what should prove to be a challenging test away from home.
Popovic’s first match in charge of the Socceroos was a 3-1 victory at Adelaide Oval in October against their upcoming opposition.
“The winning momentum we started (against China) can hopefully continue into China,” Ryan said.
“With whatever challenge we’re being faced with, we’ve got to look within in order to find the answers – that’s what being a Socceroo is.
“Whichever opposition we’re coming up against, we need to tap into our skill sets to find ways to get the job done.”
Ryan’s 97th appearance for his country against Indonesia took him to outright third for most Socceroos caps, overtaking Lucas Neill.
