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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 – suitable given the disruption around his abrupt appointment, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with fewer than three weeks to prepare for critical 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aspired to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “top-tier” attitude to deserve, or continue to earn that honour. But there was an additional point. More an inspiration and an invitation to excel – and one that has been brought more distinctly into focus with any step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Just over a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, many of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s goals remain the same. The coach, for one, appears genuinely settled as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s image for strictness sharply contrasts with the approachable and at times jovial figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become frequent discussions with football media. Similarly have the performances of his team improved, with recollections of a defeat to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia appearing rather remote after successes over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ place in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those triumphs 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 momentum that has taken the Socceroos to the surprising edge of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November exhibition games against Venezuela, currently 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 – are significant in this respect.

Although Popovic concedes that he arrived in the job expecting to only be able to depend on a core group of players, he now thinks the selection he can trust has swelled. This doesn't only come through the emergence of young players 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 sidelines and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the potential to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has completely changed in my mind – of what’s attainable with players that have come in,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t truly have much apart from this. Just get by and make them better.’ Now, I think like there are 15, 20 players that have joined that, and I’m convinced there are additional ones to come that I feel can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected rise of talent, and the shift in thinking it has sparked in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet viewed amongst those ranks can hold out hope that, by June next year, they could be on the roster. 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 – keeps to play consistently, then the coach is making clear they’re in with a shot of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a limit or a end on that – to reveal in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more additions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to know that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be another player that joins in June?”

But this growth, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s initial address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something outstanding and exceed the expectations 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 boundaries’,” 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 keep saying it to the group: one day, Australia will go a long way 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 praising something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”