🔗 Share this article

When Tony Popovic eventually assembled his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach detailed a set of requirements. Most were unambiguous and concise – ideal given the disruption following his sudden appointment, after Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with fewer than three weeks to make arrangements for vital 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who hoped to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “premier” mentality to earn, or continue to earn that distinction. But there was a further theme. Less a demand and a call to greatness – and one that has been cast more distinctly into focus with every step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Just over a year on from that gathering in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s goals are the same. The coach, for one, seems genuinely comfortable as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s image for austerity stands in stark contrast with the open and at times jovial figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become frequent discussions with football media. Likewise have the fortunes of his team changed, with recollections of a setback to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia seeming fairly distant after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s international tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game unbeaten run 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 unexpected brink of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances 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 remaining games of European qualifying – carry weight in this respect.

While Popovic acknowledges that he began in the job expecting to only be able to depend on a core group of players, he now thinks the group he can rely on has swelled. This is not only through the rise of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s development into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the potential to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely changed in my mind – of what’s achievable with players that have joined,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t fully have much apart from 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 more to come that I trust can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unforeseen emergence of talent, and the transformation in mindset it has brought about in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet viewed amongst those circle can remain optimistic that, come June next year, they could be on the flight. A player like Adrian Segečić might be about to sit out a month of playing due to an ankle injury, but if he – or any other player – persists to play steadily, then the coach is stating plainly they’re in with a shot of being part of his plans.

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

But this expansion, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s initial speech as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something special and exceed the predictions 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 confine ourselves into ‘let’s be participants 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 praising something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”