Wins over Paul Pogba’s Manchester United, Olivier Giroud’s ex club Arsenal plus a draw against Hugo Lloris’ Tottenham helped Brighton defy the odds to stay up.

Ryan, who won the supporters’ player of the season after nine clean sheets in 36 games, played a vital role in those games and hoped it would prove an omen for the star-studded Les Blues.

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“Having been successful against a few of these guys in the league, it gives me enormous belief that we can be successful whenever we face them and that’s this Saturday. Tremendous belief in our squad that we can go there and beat them,’’ Ryan said.

“They’re great players, they’re in their national team and their clubs for that reason. We have to be well prepared and find the balance of respecting them but not over-respecting them.

“The biggest thing I found out this year is that everyone I’ve come up against, they’re just human. We’ll be put under pressure and (there) may be struggling circumstances, maybe the same thing can happen to them if you apply it in the right areas at the right times.”

Ryan, 26, has carefully plotted his career path since Brazil 2014, returning to Belgium (Genk) after failing to nail down the no.1 shirt at Valencia, before the Brighton.

Two strong friendly showings for the Socceroos sees him entering Russia 2018 as one of the form keepers, buoyed after fending off former Newcastle United and Holland 2014 World Cup keeper Tim Krul for Brighton’s No.1 shirt.

“It’s down to the season I had and the performances and form that I kept, at that level competition for spots is always fiercer than at a lower level,’’ he said.

“I feel like I’ve been in a really good place this season, the whole process, steps to come to Brighton, I had one (eye) on the World Cup, since the Brazil World Cup wanting to get to the highest level to pay consistently to maximise my career and give me the best opportunity to perform at tournaments like this.”

“I’m in a good place at the minute and trying to ride that wave and continue in same manner.”

Ryan raved about the Kazan facilities, with the Socceroos’ one-stop-shop impressing players.

“It’s got everything that we need here and much more,’’ Ryan said.

“The gym is really big, maybe even lose a couple of guys in there. It’s all state-of-the-art stuff and with everything being so close and local, we need to make the most of the time we have together and the limited travelling time will only benefit us.”