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When Tony Popovic finally brought together his first Socceroos squad, the recently appointed coach detailed a range of expectations. The majority were clear and concise – suitable considering the disruption around his abrupt appointment, following Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with under three weeks to prepare for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aimed to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “premier” mindset to earn, or maintain that privilege. But there was an additional point. More an inspiration and a call to greatness – and one that has been cast clearer into perspective with each step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

“My visions were to do something remarkable, in my initial talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That hasn’t changed.”

Approximately a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s ambitions are the same. The coach, for one, seems really at home as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for strictness sharply contrasts with the expansive and at times jovial figure holding court for over an hour in what have become periodic sit-downs with football media. So too have the results of his team changed, with memories of a setback to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia feeling rather distant after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s international 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 form that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely brink of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November friendlies against Venezuela, currently placed 50th in the world, and 13th-ranked Colombia – as well as Ecuador’s games against Canada and New Zealand, and the final games of European qualifying – carry weight in this context.

Although Popovic concedes that he arrived in the job assuming to only be able to rely on a main squad of players, he now feels the selection he can rely on has grown. This is not only through the emergence of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as genuine international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s growth into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the potential to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely changed in my mind – of what’s possible with players that have come in,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t fully 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 certain there are others to come that I feel can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unforeseen appearance of talent, and the transformation in outlook it has inspired in Popovic, has created opportunities for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet viewed among those circle can hold out hope that, in June next year, they could be on the roster. 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 – continues to deliver regularly, then the coach is making clear they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a limit or a stop on that – to announce 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 opportunity. Why can’t there be another player that steps up in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s first talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something outstanding and go beyond the hopes others have for them, he wants his team to have the same mindset.

“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 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 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 sitting back and cheering something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”