🔗 Share this article

As soon as Tony Popovic eventually assembled his initial Socceroos squad, the fresh coach detailed a set of requirements. The majority were unambiguous and to the point – ideal given the disruption following his abrupt appointment, in the wake of Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with fewer than three weeks to make arrangements for vital 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” attitude to earn, or continue to earn that honour. But there was an additional point. Less a demand and a call to greatness – and one that has been thrown sharper into focus with any step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

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

A little more than a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s goals remain the same. The coach, for one, seems genuinely at home as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s reputation for strictness sharply contrasts with the open and at times jovial figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become frequent sit-downs with football media. Likewise have the results of his team progressed, with memories of a defeat to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia feeling rather far off after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those wins 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 performance that has taken the Socceroos to the unexpected edge of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November friendlies against Venezuela, currently 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.

Although Popovic concedes that he began in the job assuming to only be able to depend on a key players of players, he now believes the pool he can trust has grown. This isn’t just through the breakthrough of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as genuine international players. There are also the likes of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s development into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the potential to compete with Maty Ryan.

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

This unforeseen rise of talent, and the transformation in thinking it has inspired in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet considered within those circle can hold out hope that, come June next year, they could be on the flight. 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 – continues to play steadily, 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 end on that – to declare in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more additions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to know that they have an chance. Why can’t there be one more player that comes in in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s initial speech as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something special and exceed 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 pigeonhole ourselves into ‘let’s be contenders at the World Cup, and let’s go home and celebrate for being there’.

“I keep saying it to the group: one day, Australia will go deep 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 praising something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”