{‘Why do we have to wait?’: Popovic sets no restrictions on what the Socceroos can achieve.

As soon as Tony Popovic eventually gathered his first Socceroos squad, the fresh coach detailed a series of requirements. Most were straightforward and concise – suitable given the disruption surrounding his abrupt arrival, following Graham Arnold’s departure, and with under three weeks to make arrangements for critical 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who aimed to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “premier” attitude to deserve, or keep that distinction. But there was a further theme. More an inspiration and more an evocation – and one that has been cast more distinctly into view with each step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Just over a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s ambitions are the same. The coach, for one, looks really at home as Socceroos boss. The 52-year-old’s standing for strictness stands in stark contrast with the expansive and at times cheerful figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become semi-regular interviews with football media. Similarly have the results of his team improved, with recollections of a setback to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia seeming quite far off after successes over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s global tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game undefeated streak under Popovic, one that was only snapped away by the United States earlier this month. It’s momentum that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely edge of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November exhibition games against Venezuela, at the moment placed 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 – carry weight in this regard.

Even though Popovic acknowledges that he arrived in the job assuming to only be able to rely on a core group of players, he now thinks the pool he can trust has expanded. This doesn't only come through the rise of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as authentic international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s return from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s development into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the ability to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely changed in my mind – of what’s achievable with players that have entered,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t really have much outside of this. Just make it work and make them better.’ Now, I think like there are 15, 20 players that have come into that, and I’m convinced there are additional ones to come that I trust can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected appearance of talent, and the shift in mindset it has sparked in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet considered among those group can hold out hope that, by June next year, they could be on the plane. A player like Adrian Segečić might be about to miss a month of playing due to an ankle injury, but if he – or any other player – persists to play consistently, then the coach is emphasizing they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

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

But this broadening, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s first address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something special and go beyond the expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same mindset.

“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 a long way in the World Cup. And why not this group? Why do we have to wait two or three World Cups, when I’m watching and applauding something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”