Australia captain Maty Ryan has been dropped ahead of the Socceroos World Cup opening game against Turkiye.
The experienced stopper has made 104 appearances for the national side and the start of the 2026 World Cup marked his third major tournament as captain.
But Tony Popovic has made a huge call by choosing to start the inexperienced Patrick Beach.
Popovic has also left out vice-captain Jackson Irvine for 21-year-old midfielder Paul Okon-Engstler while dynamo Nestory Irankunda, 20, will start in attack alongside Mohamed Toure.
Striker Toure proved his fitness for the game, which kicks off at Vancouver’s BC Place at 9pm Saturday (2pm Sunday AEST), after missing training on Wednesday.
There are 10 World Cup debutants in the starting line-up, and an average age of 24.6, with central defender Harry Souttar the only player to have previously experienced the tournament.
Austrlia captain Maty Ryan has been dropped to the bench for Australia’s opening tie at the 2026 World Cup
On paper, Popovic and goalkeeping coach Frank Juric are taking a massive gamble on 23-year-old Beach, who only played his second international match against Switzerland last week.
Ryan, 34, who is entering his fourth World Cup off the back of tremendous form with Levante, was dropped by Popovic ahead of his first game in charge against Japan in October 2024.
Cameron Burgess, 30, replaces 18-year-old Lucas Herrington in defence, while Turkey sensation Kenan Yildiz has been named on the bench off the back of a calf injury.
Australia will be aiming to emulate and even go one better than their performance at the 2022 World Cup.
During that tournament, the Socceroos picked up two wins in the group stage to qualify for the knockout phases in second place.
They even gave Argentina a late scare when they scored in the 77th minute to half a 2-0 deficit.
In the end they were unable to find an equaliser and were knocked out in the round of 16.
But there was no shame in their performance, losing to the eventual tournament winners.
Expectations are a little higher this time around given the expanded format that will see more teams than ever advance into the next round of the tournament.
It is a tough group though with Turkiye, one of the host nations in the US and a dangerous Paraguay team.
A win today would give them a serious boost in their pursuit of the next round, giving them the upper hand in any potential tie breakers for second or even third place.
It has been widely touted that three points and goal difference of around -1 should be enough to see a team through.
And they will need to start fast against Turkiye to give themselves the best possible opportunity.
Patrick Beach may have to play a key role as well, given the fire power that Turkiye boast in
