It was the selection shock that rocked Australia’s World Cup campaign before it had even started.

Socceroos captain and decade-long goalkeeper Mat Ryan axed for the first game of sport’s biggest tournament.

Why did coach Tony Popovic do it? He had unflinching Sydney-born shot-stopper Patrick Beach up his sleeve.

The 22-year-old A-League goalkeeper was in no expert’s predicted team for the match against Turkey. He put in a strong performance against Switzerland in a warm-up game a week before the tournament started, but it was never considered enough to displace the ever-reliable Ryan, who plays in Spain’s glittering La Liga and has captained Australia in 40 of his 104 appearances.

It was enough to convince Popovic, the one man that matters. He told Beach three days out he would take the jersey.

“A couple of days ago the boss pulled me aside and told me I’d be playing. They said I’d been performing really well and they had confidence in me and I needed to go out there and do my job tonight,” Beach said post-match.

“It was amazing. This was a dream come true.

“For many boys in this squad tonight and in the past, this is all you think about as a kid. This is the pinnacle of football, to pay for your country on the world stage and to get a result in our first game against really good opposition, it’s just one of the best nights.”

The shock call was the first sign of the brash approach the Socceroos took on their way to an upset 2-0 victory, one of the country’s finest-ever football achievements.

The triumph sent fans in the stands at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and across Australia into pandemonium.

No team in Australia is capable of producing better underdog stories than our men’s soccer team, given its standing on a world scale. In the scheme of this tournament, Beach feels like the goalkeeper-next-door.

He made a move from Sydney’s National Premier League giant Marconi Stallions to Ireland for one year, before returning to play for Central Coast Mariners and then Melbourne City in Australia’s A-League.

Turkey — a team laden with stars including Juventus weapon Kenan Yildiz, one of the top wingers in the world — took 30 shots at Beach’s goal. He kept eight of them out, including a heroic fingertip stop to protect Australia’s 1-0 lead.

He also played a special part in Nestory Irankunda’s dazzling opening goal, albeit from the other end of the pitch. Beach clutched on to a volley struck at him by Real Madrid star Arda Guler. Beach then tossed the ball out from the back and through Jordy Bos the ball landed with Irankunda, whose solo effort ended in one of Australia’s greatest-ever World Cup goals.

In Yildiz and Guler, the svelte but athletic ‘keeper was denying some of the biggest stars in world football. Turkey’s squad for the World Cup has a combined worth of more than $700 million on the global transfer market, while the Socceroos come in well under $100 million.

This country has a long history of ‘keepers coming to the national team from top leagues in Europe. Beach is not that.

That’s why he allowed himself a moment to savour Irankunda’s stunning strike like the rest of the nation.

“It was absolute limbs wasn’t it,” Beach joked.

“Seeing the whole crowd jump up in yellow and green. I think everyone went crazy, I went crazy, so did the crowd behind me. Unbelievable moment and something we will remember for sure.”

Beach revealed Ryan, who debuted for the national team 14 years ago, took the decision well and that the “goalkeeper union is very strong”.

The comments are a big step towards allaying fears the shock calls to leave out Ryan and vice-captain Jackson Irvine could fracture the group.

Beach said Ryan and fellow back-up stopper Paul Izzo helped him prepare for the biggest game of his life.

“They had some chats to me during the week and they just said be calm and relaxed and enjoy it out there. Go do what you do, everyone knows what you can do, so go do what you can do and play your game,” he said.