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The moment Tony Popovic at last gathered his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach presented a range of standards. A lot were clear and concise – ideal given the disruption following his sudden arrival, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with less than three weeks to prepare for vital 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “top-tier” mindset to deserve, or continue to earn that honour. But there was another point. Not so much an order and more an evocation – and one that has been brought clearer into view with each step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Just over 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 truly at home as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s reputation for discipline stands in stark contrast with the expansive and at times light-hearted figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become frequent sit-downs with football media. Likewise have the results of his team improved, with memories of a defeat to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia seeming rather remote after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s international tournament.

Those victories came as part of an 11-game winning streak 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 edge of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November friendlies 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 final games of European qualifying – loom large in this regard.

Although Popovic concedes that he arrived in the job expecting to only be able to count on a key players of players, he now thinks the group he can call upon has expanded. This doesn't only come through the emergence of young players 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 development into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the potential to compete with Maty Ryan.

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

This unforeseen rise of talent, and the shift in mindset it has brought about in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet regarded within those group can keep faith that, by 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 – persists to deliver steadily, then the coach is emphasizing they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

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

But this broadening, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s first speech as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something remarkable and go beyond the expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same attitude.

“Saying I want to do something special is just ‘we don’t want to have restrictions’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to box 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 observing and applauding something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”