🔗 Share this article

The moment Tony Popovic at last brought together his initial Socceroos squad, the recently appointed coach outlined a series of standards. The majority were straightforward and to the point – suitable considering the turmoil surrounding his abrupt entry, after Graham Arnold’s departure, and with under three weeks to prepare for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who hoped to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “premier” mentality to secure, or keep that honour. But there was an additional theme. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been brought more distinctly into perspective with each step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

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

A little more than a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s expectations stay the same. The coach, for one, seems truly comfortable as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s standing for austerity stands in stark contrast with the expansive and at times jovial figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become periodic discussions with football media. Similarly have the results of his team progressed, with memories of a defeat to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia seeming quite far off after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ place in next year’s global tournament.

Those victories came as part of an 11-game undefeated streak under Popovic, one that was only ended away by the United States earlier this month. It’s performance that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely brink of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November friendlies 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 – loom large in this respect.

Although Popovic concedes that he began in the job expecting to only be able to count on a core group of players, he now thinks the pool he can rely on has swelled. This is not only through the rise of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as genuine international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the ability to compete with Maty Ryan.

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

This unexpected rise of talent, and the transformation in thinking it has brought about in Popovic, has created opportunities for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet considered among those ranks can keep faith that, in 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 – continues to perform regularly, 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 limit 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 believe that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be another player that steps up in June?”

But this expansion, 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 outstanding and rise above the hopes others have for them, he wants his team to have the same attitude.

“Saying I want to do something unique is just ‘we don’t want to have restrictions’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to confine ourselves into ‘let’s be contenders 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 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 cheering something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”