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

As soon as Tony Popovic finally brought together his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach presented a range of standards. A lot were unambiguous and concise – perfect in light of the disruption surrounding his abrupt entry, after Graham Arnold’s exit, and with under three weeks to make arrangements for crucial 2026 World Cup fixtures 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 maintain that distinction. But there was an additional point. More an inspiration and an invitation to excel – and one that has been cast sharper into perspective with any step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

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

A little more than a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s ambitions remain the same. The coach, for one, appears truly comfortable as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s image for austerity sharply contrasts with the open and at times cheerful figure holding court for over an hour in what have become periodic interviews with football media. So too have the results of his team improved, with memories of a setback to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia seeming fairly remote after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s global tournament.

Those wins came as part of an 11-game winning 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 unlikely brink of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November exhibition games against Venezuela, presently 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 acknowledges that he arrived in the job thinking to only be able to count on a main squad of players, he now believes the pool he can rely on has expanded. This doesn't only come through the emergence of young players such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as authentic international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s return from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s development into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the capability to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely changed in my mind – of what’s attainable 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 manage and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have come into that, and I’m certain there are others to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This surprising rise of talent, and the transformation in thinking it has sparked in Popovic, has created opportunities for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet considered within those circle can remain optimistic that, in 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 – continues to deliver regularly, then the coach is making clear they’re highly likely of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a restriction or a stop on that – to reveal 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 another player that joins in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s initial address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something special and go beyond the hopes 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 pigeonhole 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 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 applauding something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”