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When Tony Popovic eventually gathered his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach detailed a series of standards. The majority were unambiguous and concise – perfect in light of the disruption around his abrupt entry, in the wake of Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with less than three weeks to get ready for vital 2026 World Cup fixtures against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who hoped to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “premier” attitude to deserve, or maintain that honour. But there was an additional point. More an inspiration and more an evocation – and one that has been thrown more distinctly into view with each step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Approximately a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s expectations are the same. The coach, for one, looks really at home as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for austerity differs greatly with the approachable and at times jovial figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become semi-regular interviews with football media. So too have the fortunes of his team improved, with recollections of a setback to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia feeling quite distant after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ place in next year’s global tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game undefeated streak 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 unlikely precipice of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November friendlies against Venezuela, at the moment 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 – loom large in this respect.

Although Popovic concedes that he started in the job assuming to only be able to depend on a main squad of players, he now thinks the selection he can call upon has grown. This doesn't only come through the rise of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the likes of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a true Socceroos keeper with the potential to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely changed in my mind – of what’s attainable with players that have entered,” 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 feel like there are 15, 20 players that have come into that, and I’m sure there are others to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This surprising emergence of talent, and the change in outlook it has inspired in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet regarded amongst those circle can hold out hope that, in June next year, they could be on the plane. 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 – keeps to deliver regularly, then the coach is stating plainly they’re highly likely 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 inclusions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to believe that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be one more player that comes in in June?”

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

“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 contenders 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 sitting back and praising something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”