Australia will be competing in 2026 with the aim of building on their quarter-final run in 2022. Under new head coach Tony Popovic, who took charge in September 2024, the team has retained its core structure. The match against the USA will be a significant test of strength.

Manager Tony Popovic has named three goalkeepers for the Socceroos: Mathew Ryan, Paul Izzo and Patrick Beach. Australia are taking part in the World Cup for the seventh time and will face Turkey, the USA and Paraguay in Group B. Ryan is the captain and, with 103 international caps, the most experienced player in the entire 26-man squad. The trio share three very different backgrounds – the captain, who has travelled extensively across Europe; the long-serving A-League journeyman in Denmark; and the 22-year-old talent who made his debut just months before the tournament.

Ryan, aged 34, is taking part in his fourth World Cup – an Australian record, on a par with Tim Cahill and Mark Milligan. His career path is one of the most international in goalkeeping history: Central Coast Mariners, Club Brugge, Valencia, Brighton & Hove Albion – where he spent four Premier League seasons as first-choice goalkeeper – then Arsenal on loan, Real Sociedad, FC Copenhagen, AZ Alkmaar, AS Roma, RC Lens, and, since August 2025, Levante in La Liga. There, he helped the club avoid relegation on the final day of the season – a moment that once again underlined his composure.

On 10 June 2025, he made his 100th international appearance in the qualifier against Saudi Arabia, securing Australia’s World Cup qualification in the process. Ryan is not only the first-choice goalkeeper but also the team’s leader – the player everyone else looks to when the going gets tough in a tournament.

Izzo is 31 years old and the goalkeeper with the most remarkable background of the trio. For more than a decade, he played as a journeyman in the A-League: Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory – with spells in Greece (Xanthi) and Ireland (Dundalk) in between. In August 2021, he received his first senior squad call-up, though he did not feature. During the 2022/23 season, he was part of the squad under Graham Arnold without making an appearance. It was not until the summer of 2024 that he moved to Randers FC in the Danish Superliga – where he began his most consistent spell as a professional. He made his official international debut on 5 September 2025 against New Zealand in the Soccer Ashes clash. With four international caps to his name, he is Popovic’s reliable second-choice goalkeeper – a keeper who waited years for his chance and made the most of it.

Beach is 22 years old and was born in Sydney. His rise to prominence has been meteoric: Marconi Academy, Central Coast Mariners youth team, loan spells in Ireland and England, then Melbourne City in 2023, where he initially found himself on the bench. In October 2024, he secured a regular place in the starting line-up, made his debut in a clean-sheet victory and, at the age of 21, won the A-League title in his first full season. That season, he led Melbourne City through to the AFC Champions League final. On 14 November 2025, he made his debut for the Socceroos against Venezuela and was named Player of the Match. He has only played four international matches so far; the World Cup is his first and, to date, biggest tournament.