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The moment Tony Popovic at last brought together his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach presented a range of requirements. A lot were clear and to the point – ideal considering the disruption following his unexpected entry, following Graham Arnold’s departure, and with less than three weeks to get ready for vital 2026 World Cup fixtures against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aspired to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “top-tier” mindset to secure, or maintain that distinction. But there was an additional theme. Not so much an order and a call to greatness – and one that has been cast clearer into focus with every step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

“My visions were to do something special, in my first talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That remains the same.”

Approximately a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s expectations remain the same. The coach, for one, seems really comfortable as Socceroos boss. The 52-year-old’s standing for austerity sharply contrasts with the open and at times cheerful figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become frequent discussions with football media. Likewise have the fortunes of his team improved, with thoughts of a defeat to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia appearing quite remote after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s global tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game unbeaten run under Popovic, one that was only broken away by the United States earlier this month. It’s form that has taken the Socceroos to the surprising brink of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes 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 last games of European qualifying – are significant in this regard.

Even though Popovic acknowledges that he began in the job thinking to only be able to depend on a core group of players, he now thinks the pool he can call upon has expanded. This isn’t just through the rise of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as authentic international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s return from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a true Socceroos keeper with the capability to compete with Maty Ryan.

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

This surprising emergence of talent, and the transformation in thinking it has sparked in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet viewed within those group can remain optimistic that, by 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 – persists 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 cap or a stop on that – to declare 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 know that they have an possibility. Why can’t there be another player that joins in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s introductory speech 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 philosophy.

“Saying I want to do something exceptional is just ‘we don’t want to have boundaries’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to confine ourselves into ‘let’s be competitors 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 very far 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 praising something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”