When Tony Popovic was finally able to assemble his first Socceroos squad, the new coach laid out a series of expectations. Most were clear and to the point – ideal given the upheaval surrounding his sudden arrival, following Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with less than three weeks to prepare for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.
Popovic insisted that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “elite” mentality to earn, or continue to earn, that honour. But there was another message. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been brought sharper into focus with every step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.
“My expectations were to do something special, in my first talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That hasn’t changed.”
Just over a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s expectations remain the same. The coach, for one, appears truly at home as Socceroos boss. The 52-year-old’s reputation for austerity sharply contrasts with the expansive and at times jovial figure holding court for over an hour in what have become semi-regular sit-downs with football media. So too have the fortunes of his team changed, with memories of a defeat to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia feeling quite distant after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ place in next year’s global tournament.
Those wins came as part of an 11-game unbeaten run 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 precipice of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November friendlies against Venezuela, currently ranked 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 – loom large in this regard.
While Popovic admits that he arrived in the job expecting to only be able to rely on a core group of players, he now believes the pool he can trust to call upon has swelled. This isn’t just through the emergence of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as genuine international players. There are also the likes of Miloš Degenek’s return from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the potential to push Maty Ryan.
“The squad has completely 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 really have much outside of this. Just make it work and make them better.’ Now, I feel like there are 15, 20 players that have come into that, and I’m sure there are more to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”
This unexpected emergence of talent, and the change in mindset it has brought about in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet considered amongst those ranks can hold out hope that, come June next year, they could be on the plane. A player like Adrian Segečić might be about to miss a month of playing due to an ankle injury, but if he – or any other player – continues to perform consistently, 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 additions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to feel that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be another player that comes in in June?”
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But this expansion, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s first address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to surprise him, to do something special and rise above the expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same mindset.
“Saying I want to do something special is just ‘we don’t want to have limits’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into ‘let’s be competitors at the World Cup, and let’s go home and pat each other on the back 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 sitting back watching and applauding something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”
