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

When Tony Popovic eventually brought together his maiden Socceroos squad, the recently appointed coach detailed a series of requirements. A lot were clear and concise – perfect in light of the turmoil around his abrupt arrival, after Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with fewer than three weeks to get ready for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who aimed to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “elite” mentality to deserve, or keep that distinction. But there was an additional point. More an inspiration and a call to greatness – and one that has been cast clearer into focus with each step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Just over a year on from that gathering in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s expectations remain the same. The coach, for one, seems really at home as Socceroos boss. The 52-year-old’s standing for austerity sharply contrasts with the expansive and at times cheerful figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become periodic sit-downs with football media. Similarly have the results of his team progressed, with thoughts of a defeat to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia seeming fairly remote after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ place in next year’s international tournament.

Those wins 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 form that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely brink of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November exhibition games against Venezuela, at the moment ranked 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 regard.

Although Popovic admits that he began in the job assuming to only be able to rely on a main squad of players, he now thinks the pool he can rely on has grown. 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 cases of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s growth into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the capability to challenge Maty Ryan.

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

This unforeseen rise 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 within those group can hold out hope that, come June next year, they could be on the plane. 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 deliver consistently, then the coach is stating plainly they’re highly likely of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a restriction or a stop 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 possibility. Why can’t there be an additional player that steps up in June?”

But this growth, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s introductory talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something remarkable and rise above the hopes 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 restrictions’,” 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 keep saying it to the group: one day, Australia will go a long way in the World Cup. And why not this group? Why do we have to wait two or three World Cups, when I’m observing and praising something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”