Socceroos captain Mat Ryan in 'nightmare' World Cup moment
Socceroos Mat Ryan left fans stunned after has delivered a horror error against Argentina in the round of 16 at the World Cup to leave Australia reeling. Coach Graham Arnold made one change to their starting line-up and brought Keanu Baccus on to face Argentina in a knock-out clash in Qatar.
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However, Lionel Messi quickly put the Socceroos on the back foot with a lovely one-two and sweeping finish. Argentinian fans erupted at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium after Messi's magic. Australia held out till the second-half, until captain Ryan left the Socceroos reeling after a horror moment.
The Socceroos were opting to play the ball out from the back when it was passed back to Ryan. Instead of booting the ball long, Ryan attempted to dribble past the on-rushing Argentinian forwards. The Australian goalkeeper was caught in possession, which gave young Man City striker Julian Alvarez an easy tap-in to hand Argentina a pivotal 2-0 lead.
The football world reacted with utter shock at the incident, which left the Socceroos reeling in the round of 16.
Argentina double their lead thanks to Julián Álvarez.
Maty Ryan is forced into an error and the Manchester City striker pounces.
A long way back now for the Socceroos.
🎥: @SBSSportau #FIFAWorldCup #OptusSport pic.twitter.com/uUFx1MXsWW— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) December 3, 2022
Julian Alvarez punishes a HUGE mistake from Mat Ryan 😱 pic.twitter.com/t6CwmHsHv4
— GOAL (@goal) December 3, 2022
2-0 to Argentina - not a moment Mat Ryan will want to see again - game over now probably pic.twitter.com/zHrviRVTnS
— Ian Abrahams (Moose) (@BroadcastMoose) December 3, 2022
A nightmare moment for Mat Ryan, who takes a poor first touch from a back-pass and has the ball stolen off him by Alvarez.
Surely game over.
Argentina 2-0 Australia— Simon Collings (@sr_collings) December 3, 2022
Goalkeepers union. We’ve all done it. Solidarity with Mat Ryan #ARGAUS
— Tim Farron (@timfarron) December 3, 2022
MAT RYAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
Julian Alvarez doubles the Argentine lead thanks to a blunder in the back from Australia.
📽️: @FOXSoccer | #WorldCup | #ARGpic.twitter.com/ZQ5D3n2fkg— SiriusXM FC 157 ⚽️📻 (@SiriusXMFC) December 3, 2022
Now that Mat Ryan error is the difference 😬 #FIFAWorldCup
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) December 3, 2022
Oh no! I don’t think that was part of the plan. Poor Mat Ryan 😞 #FIFAWorldCup
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) December 3, 2022
In a huge shock, the Socceroos scored in the 77th minutes to keep the game alive. Craig Goodwin launched a wild shot from outside the box. While it was going wide, it took a wicked deflection off Enzo Fernandez and skipped past the keeper and into the net.
In the dying moments, the Socceroos nearly scored as the ball fell to young superstar Garang Kuol. The forward swivelled quickly, but Argentinian keeper Martinez made a brilliant one-on-one save to help send the South American juggernauts to the quarter-final.
What a magnificent effort from the @Socceroos. A great effort in this WC and pushed Argentina all the way till the end. 👍
— Craig Burley (@craigburley) December 3, 2022
Socceroos make World Cup history
That victory followed the Socceroos' 1-0 triumph against Tunisia and marked the first time the Australians have won two games in one edition of the World Cup.
Arnold has stuck with Milos Degenek at right-back - he will form a defensive four also featuring Harry Souttar, Kye Rowles and Aziz Behich, who are tasked with stopping mercurial Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
The Argentines were without stalwart Angel di Maria, who suffered an undisclosed injury in their last match.
Argentina will now play the Netherlands in a quarter-final on Friday night (0600 AEDT Saturday) on a blockbuster match.
The Dutch earlier defeated the United States 3-1 in their knockout game.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 is on SBS and SBS on Demand.
with AAP
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