{‘Why do we have to wait?’: Popovic places no boundaries on what the Socceroos can achieve.

When Tony Popovic eventually brought together his maiden Socceroos squad, the fresh coach outlined a range of standards. Most were straightforward and direct – ideal considering the turmoil surrounding his sudden appointment, after Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with under three weeks to prepare for critical 2026 World Cup fixtures against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who aimed to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “top-tier” mindset to earn, or continue to earn that privilege. But there was another theme. Not so much an order and a call to greatness – and one that has been thrown clearer into view with every step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

“My visions were to do something extraordinary, in my first 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 changed, even if Popovic’s goals are the same. The coach, for one, seems truly at home as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for austerity differs greatly with the open and at times jovial figure holding court for over an hour in what have become frequent discussions with football media. Similarly have the fortunes of his team improved, with recollections of a loss to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia feeling rather distant after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s international tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game winning streak under Popovic, one that was only ended away by the United States earlier this month. It’s form that has taken the Socceroos to the unexpected brink of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November warm-up matches against Venezuela, currently positioned 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 – carry weight in this context.

Even though Popovic concedes that he began in the job thinking to only be able to rely on a core group of players, he now believes the pool he can call upon has expanded. This is not only through the emergence 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 reappearance from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the ability to challenge Maty Ryan.

“The squad has completely changed in my mind – of what’s possible 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 feel like there are 15, 20 players that have come into that, and I’m certain there are additional ones to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This surprising appearance of talent, and the transformation in thinking it has sparked in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet considered among those circle can keep faith 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 – keeps to play regularly, then the coach is emphasizing they’re highly likely of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a restriction or a stop on that – to announce in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more inclusions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to know that they have an chance. Why can’t there be another player that steps up in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s first talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something special 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 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 congratulate ourselves 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 sitting back and cheering something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”