Australia Switches Goalkeepers For Penalty Kicks vs. Egypt, But Still Falls Short

Australia goalkeeper Patrick Beach was sent down under for penalty kicks in Friday's round-of-32 match against Egypt — but the Socceroos were sent down under, too.

In the 119th minute, Australia subbed out Beach for veteran backup Mat Ryan with penalty kicks looming as the match was tied 1-1. The move didn't pay dividends, though, as Ryan didn't stop any of the four shots he faced in penalty kicks. Australia missed two shots in the 4-2 penalty shootout loss.

Beach had logged three saves on four shots in Friday's match, including a clutch one-handed save in stoppage time to ensure the match would go to extra time. While Beach had good moments on Friday, Ryan has been the superior goalkeeper in penalty situations over their respective careers. The 34-year-old Ryan has stopped 12-of-69 penalty kicks (excluding penalty kick shootouts) over his career, and the 22-year-old Beach has stopped just 1-of-8 penalty kicks he's faced in his career (also excluding penalty kick shootouts).

The move Australian coach Tony Popovic made is relatively rare, but not entirely unprecedented at the World Cup. In 2014, the Netherlands made a similar substitution before a quarterfinal shootout against Costa Rica. Starting goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen was substituted in the 121st minute in place of veteran goalkeeper Tim Krul. The Dutch won the shootout, making all four of their penalties while Krul stopped two of the five he faced.

However, Popovic's move marks just the second time a coach has switched goalkeepers right before penalty kicks.

Egypt will now face the winner of Friday's Argentina-Cape Verde match in the round of 16.

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