🔗 Share this article

The moment Tony Popovic finally assembled his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach detailed a set of standards. A lot were straightforward and direct – perfect considering the upheaval following his abrupt appointment, following Graham Arnold’s departure, and with under three weeks to make arrangements for vital 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aimed to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “top-tier” mentality to earn, or keep that privilege. But there was another message. Less a demand and an invitation to excel – and one that has been cast clearer into perspective with every step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

“My visions were to do something special, in my initial talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That stays constant.”

Approximately a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, many of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s ambitions remain the same. The coach, for one, looks genuinely comfortable as Socceroos boss. The 52-year-old’s standing for austerity differs greatly with the expansive and at times jovial figure holding court for over an hour in what have become semi-regular sit-downs with football media. Likewise have the fortunes of his team progressed, with recollections of a defeat to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia seeming quite remote after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those victories came as part of an 11-game winning 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 precipice of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November warm-up matches against Venezuela, at the moment positioned 50th in the world, and 13th-ranked Colombia – as well as Ecuador’s games against Canada and New Zealand, and the last games of European qualifying – carry weight in this context.

Although Popovic concedes that he started in the job assuming to only be able to count on a key players of players, he now believes the selection he can trust has swelled. This is not only through the breakthrough of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the capability to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has completely 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 manage and make them better.’ Now, I think like there are 15, 20 players that have entered 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 appearance of talent, and the shift in thinking it has brought about in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet considered within those circle 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 steadily, then the coach is stating plainly they’re highly likely of being part of his plans.

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

But this broadening, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s initial address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something remarkable and rise above the expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same philosophy.

“Saying I want to do something exceptional is just ‘we don’t want to have boundaries’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to box ourselves into ‘let’s be contenders 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 watching and cheering something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”