‘Ain’t no c— scoring against me today’: Socceroos captain fired up for fourth FIFA World Cup

Much has changed since Mathew Ryan was in the goals for Blacktown City and then the Central Coast Mariners from 2010-13.

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In between club stints in Belgium, England, Denmark, Italy, France and now Spain, the 34-year-old has accumulated 104 senior appearances for the Socceroos and is about to embark on his fourth FIFA World Cup.

Speaking from the USA on the Unscripted podcast with Josh Mansour, Ryan made it clear he can’t wait for the action to begin in Sunday’s opening Group D clash with Türkiye.

“It’s crazy, heh? Obviously I’m super proud (to make four World Cups),” he said.

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“I guess it’s testament to how I’ve been able to be consistent… with the World Cup being every four years, I’m just trying to embrace it and make it the best one yet,” he continued.

‘They’re not these godlike characters’ says Maty Ryan

Discussing the confidence that comes from playing against the world’s best players in the world’s best leagues for over 13 years, Ryan showed the steely determination that has seen him become arguably his country’s greatest ever goalkeeper.

“(The big stars) struggle just as much as you and I do, they’re human and they’re not these godlike characters,” he said, explaining that has been one of the biggest learnings from the start of his professional football career.

“They all have difficulties and you just have make sure you’re on your game and your mentality is where it needs to be in order to allow your physicality, your tactics, your technique to have its effect on the game.”

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‘I’m stopping the ball with my face, my ass… I’m doing my job’

Whether it’s a club game for Levant in La Liga or a World Cup match for the Socceroos, Ryan says the key to success is keeping things simple and trusting his skills.

“Obviously we work all week on the details, but when I’m going out on the football pitch the last thing I say is ‘ain’t no c-word scoring against me today’, that’s the only thought I go out there with,” he revealed with a smirk.

“You have all these techniques around how you should stop a ball (as a goalkeeper), but with the pace at which the ball comes and how they float and move all over the place if I’m stopping the ball with my face, with my ass, with my toe, with my nose, whatever it is, if I’m keeping the ball out the back of the net, I’m doing my job.”

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“I just let my instincts take over, I don’t want to think, I trust the work that I’ve done and I go out there and just let my instincts take over and do their thing.”

‘It really builds our backbone’

Asked about the underdog status the Socceroos inevitably carry into every FIFA World Cup — this one very much included based on much of the commentary coming from the USA sports media — Ryan explained it’s something that gives the Aussies a hard edge against many opponents. 

“Teammates in Europe, they complain when they have to fly two hours to play a game, while we’re flying 24-hours plus for Socceroos matches — it really builds our backbone (as a national team),” he laughed.

“Then there are those types of players where you know if you tackle them strongly twice, all of a sudden they start complaining to the referee or their teammates, they’re not up for it because they’re weaker in that sense, you need to tap into those strengths that we have.”

“That grit and the willingness to work for one another and be united, they’re characteristics that we try and call upon, whoever we’re coming up against.

“When the football world thinks of Australia, they know they’re going to be coming up against a team that’s not going to stop fighting.“

As for the detractors who don’t give the Socceroos a chance of beating the USA in Seattle on June 19?

“I’ve heard there’s been some Americans making comments,” Ryan grinned.

“To be honest I just have a chuckle to myself because actions speak louder than words, everything else is irrelevant.

“At the final whistle whatever the result is, that’s going to be the biggest blow for whoever is on the wrong end of that result.”

If Maty Ryan has his way, it certainly won’t be Australia.

The Socceroos open their FIFA 2026 World Cup campaign against World No. 22 Türkiye in Vancouver on Sunday afternoon at 2:00p.m. (AEST).

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