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The moment Tony Popovic at last brought together his first Socceroos squad, the recently appointed coach detailed a range of expectations. Most were straightforward and concise – suitable considering the disruption around his sudden appointment, in the wake of Graham Arnold’s departure, and with under three weeks to get ready for vital 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who hoped to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “premier” mentality to secure, or keep that privilege. But there was a further point. Not so much an order and more an evocation – and one that has been brought more distinctly into focus with each step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

“My expectations were to do something remarkable, in my initial talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That hasn’t changed.”

Approximately a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s ambitions stay the same. The coach, for one, seems truly comfortable as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s image for discipline stands in stark contrast with the open and at times jovial figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become periodic discussions with football media. So too have the fortunes of his team changed, with memories of a defeat to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia seeming fairly distant after successes over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ place in next year’s global tournament.

Those victories 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 performance that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely precipice of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November exhibition games against Venezuela, presently placed 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 – loom large in this context.

Even though Popovic admits that he started in the job expecting to only be able to rely on a core group of players, he now believes the selection he can trust has expanded. 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 cases of Miloš Degenek’s return from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s growth into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the ability to challenge Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely changed in my mind – of what’s possible with players that have come in,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t fully have much beyond 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 convinced 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 mindset it has brought about in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet considered within those circle can hold out hope that, in June next year, they could be on the roster. 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 – continues to play consistently, then the coach is emphasizing they’re in with a shot of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a limit or a halt on that – to reveal in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more inclusions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to feel that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be another player that comes in in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s first address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something special and exceed the expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same attitude.

“Saying I want to do something unique 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 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 applauding something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”