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When Tony Popovic at last gathered his first Socceroos squad, the new coach detailed a range of requirements. The majority were clear and concise – suitable in light of the turmoil following his sudden entry, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with less than three weeks to make arrangements for critical 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who aimed to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “premier” mindset to earn, or keep that privilege. But there was an additional message. More an inspiration and a call to greatness – and one that has been cast sharper into perspective with every step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

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

A little more than a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s goals stay the same. The coach, for one, appears genuinely comfortable as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for discipline sharply contrasts with the expansive and at times cheerful figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become periodic interviews with football media. Likewise have the results of his team improved, with recollections of a setback to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia feeling fairly far off after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s global tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game winning streak 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 precipice of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The results 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 remaining games of European qualifying – loom large in this context.

Although Popovic acknowledges that he arrived in the job expecting to only be able to rely on a core group of players, he now thinks the pool he can trust has grown. This isn’t just through the rise of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as genuine international players. There are also the likes of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s development into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the potential to challenge 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 feel like there are 15, 20 players that have come into that, and I’m sure 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 change in mindset it has inspired in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet regarded within those group can hold out hope that, come 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 – keeps to deliver steadily, 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 end on that – to reveal in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more additions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to know that they have an possibility. Why can’t there be another player that comes in in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s first speech as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to surprise him, to do something outstanding and exceed 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 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 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 praising something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”