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When Tony Popovic eventually gathered his initial Socceroos squad, the new coach outlined a set of requirements. A lot were straightforward and to the point – suitable in light of the disruption surrounding his sudden appointment, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with fewer than three weeks to make arrangements for critical 2026 World Cup fixtures against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who hoped to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “elite” attitude to earn, or continue to earn that distinction. But there was an additional theme. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been brought sharper into focus with any step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Just over a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, many of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s ambitions are the same. The coach, for one, looks truly comfortable as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s image for discipline sharply contrasts with the approachable and at times cheerful figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become frequent interviews with football media. Similarly have the results of his team progressed, with thoughts of a defeat to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia feeling rather distant after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those wins 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 edge of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes 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 final games of European qualifying – loom large in this respect.

While Popovic acknowledges that he started in the job expecting to only be able to depend on a main squad of players, he now believes the selection he can rely on has expanded. This doesn't only come through the emergence of youngsters 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 growth into a bona fide 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 really have much apart from this. Just make it work and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have joined that, and I’m certain there are more to come that I trust can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This surprising rise of talent, and the change in mindset it has inspired in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet viewed within those ranks can keep faith that, by June next year, they could be on the flight. 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 – persists 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 restriction or a end 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 believe that they have an chance. Why can’t there be another player that joins in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s introductory talk 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 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 celebrate 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 sitting back and praising something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”