🔗 Share this article

The moment Tony Popovic finally gathered his maiden Socceroos squad, the recently appointed coach detailed a series of standards. A lot were clear and direct – suitable in light of the disruption following his sudden arrival, in the wake of Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with fewer than three weeks to make arrangements for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “premier” mentality to deserve, or keep that privilege. But there was a further point. Not so much an order and an invitation to excel – and one that has been thrown clearer into focus with any step taken on the journey 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.”

A little more than 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 really settled as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for discipline differs greatly with the open and at times cheerful figure holding court for over an hour in what have become periodic sit-downs with football media. Likewise have the results of his team progressed, with recollections of a setback to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia seeming fairly remote after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s global tournament.

Those victories 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 unexpected precipice of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November warm-up matches 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 – loom large in this context.

Even though Popovic admits that he arrived in the job expecting to only be able to rely on a main squad of players, he now thinks the selection he can trust has expanded. This isn’t just through the emergence of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as authentic international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s development into a true Socceroos keeper with the potential to challenge Maty Ryan.

“The squad has totally 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 apart from this. Just manage and make them better.’ Now, I feel like there are 15, 20 players that have joined that, and I’m convinced there are more to come that I feel can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected emergence of talent, and the change in outlook it has sparked in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet viewed within those ranks can hold out hope that, by June next year, they could be on the flight. 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 – persists to deliver steadily, then the coach is stating plainly they’re highly likely 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 joins in June?”

But this growth, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s first talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something special and go beyond the predictions 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 limits’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to confine ourselves into ‘let’s be contenders at the World Cup, and let’s go home and celebrate for being there’.

“I emphasize 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 watching and applauding something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”