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The moment Tony Popovic at last assembled his initial Socceroos squad, the new coach outlined a range of expectations. Most were straightforward and to the point – suitable considering the disruption around his unexpected appointment, in the wake of Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with fewer than three weeks to prepare for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who aimed to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “top-tier” attitude to deserve, or continue to earn that honour. But there was an additional message. More an inspiration and an invitation to excel – and one that has been thrown more distinctly into perspective with any step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

“My visions were to do something special, in my introductory talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That stays constant.”

Just over a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s ambitions are the same. The coach, for one, seems genuinely at home as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for discipline sharply contrasts with the expansive and at times cheerful figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become frequent interviews with football media. So too have the fortunes of his team changed, with memories of a setback to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia feeling fairly remote after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ berth 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 performance that has taken the Socceroos to the surprising edge of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November friendlies against Venezuela, presently positioned 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 – loom large in this respect.

Although Popovic concedes that he started in the job assuming to only be able to depend on a key players of players, he now believes the group he can rely on has swelled. This doesn't only come through the rise of young players such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the likes of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s growth into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the ability to challenge Maty Ryan.

“The squad has completely 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 really have much apart from 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 convinced there are additional ones to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected emergence of talent, and the shift in outlook it has brought about in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet considered amongst those circle can hold out hope that, by 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 consistently, then the coach is emphasizing 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 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 possibility. Why can’t there be another player that steps up in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s initial speech as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to surprise him, to do something special and go beyond the predictions 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 restrictions’,” 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 emphasize 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 observing and cheering something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”