🔗 Share this article

When Tony Popovic finally brought together his maiden Socceroos squad, the recently appointed coach outlined a set of expectations. The majority were straightforward and concise – ideal considering the disruption surrounding his abrupt appointment, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with fewer than three weeks to prepare for crucial 2026 World Cup fixtures against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who hoped to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “premier” mindset to secure, or continue to earn that privilege. But there was a further point. Not so much an order and a call to greatness – and one that has been thrown more distinctly into view with every step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

“My hopes were to do something remarkable, in my first talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That stays constant.”

Just over a year on from that gathering in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s expectations remain the same. The coach, for one, appears genuinely settled as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s reputation for austerity differs greatly with the expansive and at times cheerful figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become periodic sit-downs with football media. So too have the fortunes of his team improved, with thoughts of a loss to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia seeming fairly remote after wins 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 winning streak under Popovic, one that was only broken away by the United States earlier this month. It’s form that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely edge of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November exhibition games against Venezuela, presently ranked 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 – are significant in this respect.

While Popovic concedes that he started in the job assuming to only be able to rely on a key players of players, he now thinks the selection he can rely on has grown. This doesn't only come through the rise of young players such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as genuine international players. There are also the likes of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the capability to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely 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 truly have much beyond this. Just get by and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have entered that, and I’m sure there are additional ones to come that I feel can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This surprising rise of talent, and the shift in mindset it has inspired in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet viewed among those group can hold out hope 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 – continues to play steadily, then the coach is making clear they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a restriction or a end 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 know that they have an chance. Why can’t there be an additional player that comes in in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s introductory speech as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something outstanding and go beyond the hopes others have for them, he wants his team to have the same attitude.

“Saying I want to do something exceptional is just ‘we don’t want to have limits’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to box ourselves into ‘let’s be competitors at the World Cup, and let’s go home and pat each other on the back for being there’.

“I keep saying 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 cheering something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”