Shay Given has claimed Australia goalkeeper Mat Ryan will be having 'sleepless nights' over his mistake that led to Argentina's second goal.
In what ended up being a thrilling game in the last 16, Argentina had to work hard to grind out a 2-1 victory over Australia, who can be very proud of their efforts in the tournament.
Lionel Messi's calm finish in the 35th minute opened the deadlock for Argentina in a tense game, as they struggled to break down a stubborn Australia defence. Their second goal however, will be a moment that goalkeeper Mat Ryan will want to quickly forget.
Instead of clearing his lines, Mat Ryan passed the ball to his defender under pressure, who passed it back to him as he was dispossessed by the Argentina press, with Julian Alvarez slotting it into the net.
Shay Given had a degree of sympathy for the goalkeeper, but claimed it should have been a safety first approach to deal with the situation.
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🗣️'It was the first time in the whole game they pressed him.'
Shay Given and Kevin Doyle sympathised with Australian net-minder Mat Ryan after the second Argentine goal.
📺 Watch live on @rte2 and @rteplayer: https://t.co/1CdVcPrCaZ#FifaWorldCup #RTEsoccer #ARGAUS pic.twitter.com/B63ld1GT62— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) December 3, 2022
There's a time and a place where you just have to clear your lines. You're the person in charge, you've got the ball on your feet, the pressure is all on you.
It's alright a manager or a coach saying do this or do that, but if you've got people closing you down, coming from different angles, than I think that's what caught Mat Ryan out.
You've got to clear your lines, get it out for a throw in, back heel it out for a corner even, it doesn't matter safety first. I think he's a bit surprised by the Argentina press, we haven't seen it all night."
Matt Ryan will have sleepless nights. You can imagine what he will be going through, hopefully he has good support around him because it's a tough one."
Shay Given has been in this position before when it comes to goalkeeping mistakes and come bake strong, and hopefully Mat Ryan can do the same.
It will be even more painful for the Australian goalkeeper knowing how close they came to forcing the game to extra time as his opposite number Emiliano Martinez made a crucial save to win the game for his country.
SEE ALSO: Shay Given Had Serious Flashbacks In The RTÉ Studio After Portugal-Ghana Incident
