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As soon as Tony Popovic finally assembled his initial Socceroos squad, the new coach presented a set of requirements. Most were clear and concise – suitable in light of the disruption around his abrupt entry, following Graham Arnold’s departure, and with less than three weeks to get ready for crucial 2026 World Cup fixtures against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aspired to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “premier” attitude to secure, or continue to earn that distinction. But there was a further theme. Not so much an order and a call to greatness – and one that has been brought sharper into view with every step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

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

A little more than a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, many of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s ambitions are the same. The coach, for one, looks genuinely comfortable as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for strictness differs greatly with the approachable and at times jovial figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become periodic interviews with football media. Similarly have the fortunes of his team progressed, with memories of a defeat to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia seeming rather far off after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s international tournament.

Those victories came as part of an 11-game undefeated streak under Popovic, one that was only broken away by the United States earlier this month. It’s momentum that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely brink of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November warm-up matches 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 remaining games of European qualifying – loom large in this context.

While Popovic admits that he started in the job thinking to only be able to rely on a core group of players, he now feels the pool he can trust has expanded. This is not only 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 return from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the ability to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has totally changed in my mind – of what’s possible with players that have joined,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t fully have much outside of this. Just get by and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have entered 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 unforeseen emergence of talent, and the shift in outlook it has sparked in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet regarded amongst those group can hold out hope that, in 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 regularly, then the coach is stating plainly they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a cap or a halt 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 address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something special and go beyond the expectations 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 boundaries’,” 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 observing and cheering something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”