{‘Why do we have to wait?’: Popovic sets no limits on what Australia can attain.

As soon as Tony Popovic eventually gathered his first Socceroos squad, the fresh coach detailed a set of standards. A lot were clear and direct – suitable considering the disruption around his sudden arrival, following Graham Arnold’s departure, and with less than three weeks to get ready for critical 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who hoped to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “top-tier” mentality to deserve, or keep that honour. But there was an additional theme. Not so much an order and more an evocation – and one that has been thrown more distinctly into view with every step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

“My expectations were to do something special, 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, many of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s ambitions remain the same. The coach, for one, appears really comfortable as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s image for strictness stands in stark contrast with the expansive and at times light-hearted figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become periodic sit-downs with football media. Likewise have the fortunes of his team progressed, with memories of a loss to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia appearing fairly remote after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those triumphs 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 precipice of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November friendlies against Venezuela, presently positioned 50th in the world, and 13th-ranked Colombia – as well as Ecuador’s games against Canada and New Zealand, and the last games of European qualifying – carry weight in this regard.

Although Popovic acknowledges that he started in the job expecting to only be able to depend on a key players of players, he now thinks the pool he can call upon has grown. This doesn't only come through the rise of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as authentic international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s growth into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the ability to push Maty Ryan.

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

This unexpected appearance of talent, and the shift in mindset it has brought about in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet considered amongst those ranks can hold out hope that, come June next year, they could be on the plane. 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 perform consistently, then the coach is making clear they’re every chance 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 possibility. Why can’t there be another player that steps up in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s initial address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something outstanding and exceed the expectations 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 pigeonhole ourselves into ‘let’s be competitors 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 sitting back and praising something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”