🔗 Share this article

When Tony Popovic at last brought together his initial Socceroos squad, the recently appointed coach detailed a set of standards. A lot were straightforward and direct – perfect given the disruption surrounding his sudden entry, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with under three weeks to make arrangements for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aimed to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “top-tier” attitude to secure, or continue to earn that distinction. But there was another message. Less a demand and an invitation to excel – and one that has been thrown sharper into view with each step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

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

A little more than a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s goals remain the same. The coach, for one, seems genuinely at home as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s image for discipline differs greatly with the expansive and at times cheerful figure holding court for over an hour in what have become frequent sit-downs with football media. So too have the performances of his team changed, with memories of a loss to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia feeling fairly far off after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s global 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 unlikely edge of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November warm-up matches against Venezuela, at the moment ranked 50th in the world, and 13th-ranked Colombia – as well as Ecuador’s games against Canada and New Zealand, and the final games of European qualifying – are significant in this regard.

Even though Popovic admits that he began in the job thinking to only be able to count on a main squad of players, he now feels the group he can rely on has swelled. This is not only through the breakthrough of young players 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 potential to challenge Maty Ryan.

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

This unexpected appearance of talent, and the change in thinking it has inspired in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet regarded amongst those group can remain optimistic that, come 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 – keeps to play consistently, then the coach is making clear they’re in with a shot of being part of his plans.

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

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

“Saying I want to do something exceptional is just ‘we don’t want to have restrictions’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to confine ourselves into ‘let’s be participants at the World Cup, and let’s go home and pat each other on the back 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 observing and applauding something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”