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When Tony Popovic eventually gathered his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach outlined a series of requirements. The majority were straightforward and direct – suitable in light of the disruption surrounding his sudden appointment, following Graham Arnold’s departure, and with under three weeks to get ready for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aimed to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “elite” mindset to earn, or keep that distinction. But there was an additional point. More an inspiration and more an evocation – and one that has been brought sharper into view with any step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

“My expectations were to do something special, in my first talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That remains the same.”

Approximately a year on from that gathering in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s ambitions remain the same. The coach, for one, looks truly comfortable as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s reputation for strictness differs greatly with the expansive and at times jovial figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become frequent sit-downs with football media. So too have the results of his team progressed, with recollections of a defeat to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia appearing quite distant after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ place in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game winning streak under Popovic, one that was only snapped away by the United States earlier this month. It’s form that has taken the Socceroos to the unexpected edge of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November exhibition games 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 last games of European qualifying – are significant in this respect.

Even though Popovic acknowledges that he arrived in the job assuming to only be able to count on a core group of players, he now thinks the pool he can rely on has grown. This is not only through the emergence of talented youth 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 obscurity and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a true Socceroos keeper with the ability to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has completely 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 really have much outside of this. Just make it work and make them better.’ Now, I think like there are 15, 20 players that have entered that, and I’m certain there are additional ones to come that I trust can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected appearance of talent, and the transformation in thinking it has inspired in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet considered among those group can keep faith that, come June next year, they could be on the roster. 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 – keeps to play consistently, then the coach is emphasizing they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a restriction or a stop on that – to declare 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 know that they have an possibility. Why can’t there be an additional player that joins in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s initial address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to surprise him, to do something special and go beyond the hopes others have for them, he wants his team to have the same philosophy.

“Saying I want to do something special is just ‘we don’t want to have boundaries’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to confine 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 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 sitting back and applauding something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”