🔗 Share this article

As soon as Tony Popovic at last brought together his maiden Socceroos squad, the fresh coach outlined a set of standards. A lot were straightforward and direct – suitable in light of the upheaval around his abrupt appointment, following Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with fewer than three weeks to get ready for crucial 2026 World Cup fixtures against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who hoped to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “premier” mindset to secure, or maintain that privilege. But there was another theme. More an inspiration and more an evocation – and one that has been brought clearer into perspective with every step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

“My expectations were to do something remarkable, in my initial talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That hasn’t changed.”

Just over a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, many of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s ambitions remain the same. The coach, for one, looks genuinely at home as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s image for discipline stands in stark contrast with the expansive and at times cheerful figure holding court for over an hour in what have become frequent interviews with football media. Similarly have the performances of his team changed, with recollections of a setback to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia appearing fairly far off after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s international tournament.

Those wins came as part of an 11-game undefeated streak under Popovic, one that was only broken away by the United States earlier this month. It’s momentum that has taken the Socceroos to the unexpected precipice of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November warm-up matches against Venezuela, currently ranked 50th in the world, and 13th-ranked Colombia – as well as Ecuador’s games against Canada and New Zealand, and the remaining games of European qualifying – loom large in this regard.

Although Popovic acknowledges that he began in the job assuming to only be able to rely on a main squad of players, he now thinks the selection he can call upon has swelled. This is not only through the breakthrough of young players such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as genuine international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the ability to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has completely changed in my mind – of what’s possible with players that have come in,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t really have much apart from this. Just manage and make them better.’ Now, I think like there are 15, 20 players that have joined that, and I’m certain there are others to come that I feel can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unforeseen emergence of talent, and the shift in outlook it has sparked in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet regarded among those circle can keep faith that, by June next year, they could be on the roster. A player like Adrian Segečić might be about to be absent for a month of playing due to an ankle injury, but if he – or any other player – continues to play regularly, then the coach is making clear they’re highly likely of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a limit or a halt on that – to reveal in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more inclusions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to believe that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be one more player that joins in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s introductory talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something remarkable and exceed the expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same attitude.

“Saying I want to do something unique is just ‘we don’t want to have boundaries’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into ‘let’s be participants at the World Cup, and let’s go home and congratulate ourselves for being there’.

“I repeat it to the group: one day, Australia will go very far in the World Cup. And why not this group? Why do we have to wait two or three World Cups, when I’m observing and applauding something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”