FARE DINKUM
I’ve spent £100k to fly 27 of my family to Russia says Aussie Mat
AUSTRALIA v PERU Fisht Stadium, Sochi KICK-OFF 3PM ITV
MATY RYAN will have his own personal fan club at the Fisht Stadium – he’s paid for 27 relatives to share his World Cup dream.
Brighton’s keeper, 26, has stumped up more than £100,000 after asking his relatives if they fancied supporting him in Russia.
And it may pay off for the shot-stopper if Australia can reach the knock-out stages for only the second time.
They have to start by beating Peru and hope France can do them a favour by defeating Denmark.
He said: “It was a chance to share something with them, it was a no-brainer.
“So I covered the trip. It’s something for them to remember. I wanted to create a lifelong memory.
“I asked my family – half of them said: ‘Yes,’ the other half are still at home – I suppose that was good news for my bank account.
“Other than for my mother and sister, it’s the first time I’ve paid for the family to come across.
“But they have witnessed everything I’ve gone through and all the sacrifices.
“The oldest is my grandfather who’s in his 70s and the youngest is my cousin who is three. Our plan and theirs is not to leave.”
Progressing to the knock-out stages would lift the Australians who have just been whitewashed by England at cricket and defeated in rugby union on their own turf by Ireland for the first time in 39 years.
Ryan continued: “It would FROM DAVID McDONNELL in Moscow FRANCE coach Didier Deschamps has rubbished Paul Pogba’s suggestion that this could be the midfielder’s last World Cup.
The Manchester United star (left) said he was “realistic” about the prospect of bowing out in Russia.
But ahead of tonight’s game with be difficult to find words to describe what I’d feel if we went through.
“If we are successful, the whole nation will remember the achievement.
“It would mean the world to me. It would mean all the sacrifice and dedication had paid off.”
With France already qualified, there is little pressure on Les Bleus to produce a result against Denmark.
But Aussies’ boss Bert Van Marwijk said: “France will want to show they can play.
“Peru have 2025,000 of their supporters – it’s more of a home game for them, like our friendly against Colombia in London when they had a similar number.
“But if we don’t beat them, there’s no point talking about anything else.”