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The moment Tony Popovic finally assembled his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach detailed a range of expectations. The majority were straightforward and direct – suitable considering the upheaval following his sudden arrival, after Graham Arnold’s departure, and with fewer than three weeks to get ready for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aimed to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “premier” mindset to deserve, or keep that distinction. But there was another theme. Less a demand and an invitation to excel – and one that has been brought sharper into perspective with every step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

“My visions were to do something extraordinary, in my first talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That hasn’t changed.”

A little more than a year on from that gathering in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s goals stay the same. The coach, for one, looks really settled as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for discipline differs greatly with the approachable and at times jovial figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become periodic interviews with football media. Similarly have the fortunes of his team changed, with recollections of a defeat to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia appearing rather distant after successes over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ place in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game unbeaten run 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 unexpected brink of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November exhibition games against Venezuela, currently 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 – carry weight in this regard.

While Popovic concedes that he arrived in the job thinking to only be able to count on a main squad of players, he now believes the pool 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 real international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s return from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the capability to challenge Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely changed in my mind – of what’s achievable with players that have entered,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t fully have much apart from this. Just get by and make them better.’ Now, I think like there are 15, 20 players that have joined that, and I’m certain there are more to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected appearance of talent, and the transformation in mindset it has inspired in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet regarded among those group can remain optimistic that, by 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 steadily, then the coach is emphasizing they’re highly likely of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a cap or a stop 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 believe that they have an possibility. Why can’t there be one more player that joins in June?”

But this growth, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s first speech as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something outstanding and go beyond the predictions 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 restrictions’,” 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 emphasize 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 watching and cheering something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”