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The moment Tony Popovic eventually gathered his initial Socceroos squad, the recently appointed coach outlined a range of standards. Most were straightforward and direct – suitable in light of the disruption around his abrupt appointment, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with less than three weeks to prepare for vital 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “elite” attitude to deserve, or maintain that privilege. But there was an additional message. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been cast clearer into view with each step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

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

A little more than a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s ambitions stay the same. The coach, for one, appears genuinely comfortable as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s image for austerity sharply contrasts with the approachable and at times cheerful figure holding court for over an hour in what have become frequent interviews with football media. Likewise have the results of his team improved, with memories of a defeat to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia seeming quite remote after successes 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 ended away by the United States earlier this month. It’s form that has taken the Socceroos to the surprising edge of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November exhibition games 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 remaining games of European qualifying – are significant in this regard.

Although Popovic admits that he arrived in the job thinking to only be able to depend on a main squad of players, he now thinks the selection he can call upon has swelled. This isn’t just through the breakthrough of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as authentic international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the capability to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has totally 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 truly have much apart from this. Just make it work and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have entered that, and I’m convinced there are others to come that I trust can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected emergence of talent, and the change in thinking it has brought about in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet considered among those group can keep faith that, in June next year, they could be on the flight. 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 – continues to play regularly, then the coach is emphasizing they’re in with a shot of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a limit or a stop on that – to reveal 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 feel that they have an chance. Why can’t there be an additional player that comes in in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, brings us 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 expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same attitude.

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