Socceroos captain's brush with Supercars

Socceroos captain Maty Ryan has revealed his affinity with Supercars as he chased his football career.

Ryan took part in a joint media call in Perth on Monday with Australia teammate Martin Boyle and Shell V-Power Racing Team drivers Brodie Kostecki and Will Davison.

There, Ryan connected with Perth-born Kostecki and Davison, who will resume their 2025 Supercars campaigns at this weekend’s Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440.

The Socceroos will play their final FIFA World Cup Round Three qualification fixtures in June, starting with a big match against Japan at Optus Stadium on Thursday.

Next week, the Aussies will play Saudi Arabia at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on Wednesday morning Australia time.

Ryan was born and raised near Blacktown in Sydney’s west, taking up football at age four and attending Westfields Sports High School.

Just 10km down the road from Ryan’s home was Sydney Motorsport Park, where the future Socceroos captain watched V8 stars tackle the Eastern Creek circuit.

“I grew up watching Supercars as a kid,” said Ryan in a social media video, where he raced Boyle, Kostecki and Davison in a remote control car race as part of the media call.

“Uncle used to take me all the time back in the day, Marcos Ambrose, Steven Richards days.

“So it’s cool to meet Brodie and Will himself, it’s fitting.”

Japan have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while the Socceroos currently sit three points ahead of Saudi Arabia, and also hold a superior goal difference of nine goals.

Australia currently holds the second and final automatic qualification spot, with two matches remaining in the third round of AFC qualifying.

Australia last defeated Japan in 2009, but after an intense training camp in Abu Dhabi, Ryan is confident his men can do the job.

“In my eyes, we’re the best in Asia,” Ryan told media.

“If you don’t believe you’re the best, you’re failing at the first hurdle. You’ve got to go out there and believe you can overcome whatever challenge is in front of you.

“Obviously there’s a fine line about being arrogant and complacent, or anything like that, we obviously respect every opposition that we play against.

“But I have full belief that myself and my teammates within the squad can go out there and do the job.”

Tickets for this weekend's Supercars event, the Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440, are on sale now.