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

When Tony Popovic eventually gathered his first Socceroos squad, the fresh coach presented a range of requirements. The majority were clear and concise – perfect given the disruption around his sudden appointment, after Graham Arnold’s departure, and with under three weeks to prepare for critical 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who aimed to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “premier” attitude to secure, or keep that distinction. But there was an additional point. Less a demand and a call to greatness – and one that has been brought clearer into perspective with each step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

“My hopes were to do something extraordinary, in my introductory 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 evolved, even if Popovic’s ambitions stay the same. The coach, for one, seems truly at home as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for strictness stands in stark contrast with the open and at times jovial figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become semi-regular interviews with football media. Similarly have the performances of his team improved, with memories of a defeat to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia feeling quite far off after successes over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ place in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those wins came as part of an 11-game unbeaten run 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 precipice of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November exhibition games against Venezuela, presently placed 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 – are significant in this regard.

While Popovic acknowledges that he began in the job thinking to only be able to rely on a main squad of players, he now believes the selection he can trust has grown. This isn’t just through the breakthrough of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a true Socceroos keeper with the potential to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has totally changed in my mind – of what’s possible with players that have joined,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t truly have much outside of this. Just make it work and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have entered that, and I’m convinced there are others to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected appearance of talent, and the transformation in mindset it has inspired in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet considered amongst those group can keep faith that, by 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 – keeps to deliver regularly, then the coach is making clear they’re in with a shot of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a cap or a stop on that – to reveal in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more new faces,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to believe that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be one more player that steps up in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s initial speech as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something special and go beyond the predictions others have for them, he wants his team to have the same philosophy.

“Saying I want to do something special 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 emphasize 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 special from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”