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When Tony Popovic eventually brought together his first Socceroos squad, the new coach presented a series of expectations. A lot were straightforward and direct – ideal in light of the upheaval following his sudden arrival, in the wake of Graham Arnold’s exit, and with fewer than three weeks to get ready for critical 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who aimed to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “elite” mentality to deserve, or keep that privilege. But there was another theme. Not so much an order and a call to greatness – and one that has been thrown clearer into focus with each step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

“My expectations were to do something special, in my initial 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, plenty of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s goals are the same. The coach, for one, seems truly at home as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for strictness differs greatly with the expansive and at times cheerful figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become frequent discussions with football media. So too have the fortunes of his team changed, with recollections of a loss to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia appearing quite far off after successes over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ place in next year’s international 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 performance that has taken the Socceroos to the surprising brink of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November friendlies against Venezuela, currently placed 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.

While Popovic admits that he began in the job assuming to only be able to count on a main squad of players, he now feels the pool he can trust has grown. This doesn't only come through the breakthrough of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s development into a true Socceroos keeper with the potential to compete with Maty Ryan.

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

This surprising rise of talent, and the transformation in mindset it has inspired in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet viewed within 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 – persists to perform 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 inclusions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to believe that they have an chance. Why can’t there be another player that steps up in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s first address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something outstanding and rise above 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 limits’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into ‘let’s be participants 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 deep 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 boundaries? Why not do it now?”