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When Tony Popovic eventually gathered his initial Socceroos squad, the fresh coach detailed a range of standards. A lot were straightforward and to the point – ideal considering the turmoil around his sudden appointment, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with fewer than three weeks to make arrangements for vital 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who aimed to represent in a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “top-tier” mentality to deserve, or continue to earn that honour. But there was an additional point. More an inspiration and a call to greatness – and one that has been thrown clearer into view with each step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

“My hopes were to do something remarkable, in my introductory talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That remains the same.”

Just over a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, many of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s goals are the same. The coach, for one, looks really at home as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s standing for discipline sharply contrasts with the approachable and at times jovial figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become periodic discussions with football media. Likewise have the fortunes of his team progressed, with thoughts of a setback to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia seeming fairly distant after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s international 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 momentum that has taken the Socceroos to the unexpected brink of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November exhibition games against Venezuela, at the moment 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 respect.

Although Popovic concedes that he started in the job thinking to only be able to depend on a main squad of players, he now believes the group he can trust has grown. This is not only through the breakthrough of youngsters 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 development into a true Socceroos keeper with the potential to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely 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 truly have much apart from this. Just get by and make them better.’ Now, I feel like there are 15, 20 players that have entered that, and I’m convinced there are others 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 thinking it has brought about in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet considered within those circle can remain optimistic that, by June next year, they could be on the roster. A player like Adrian Segečić might be about to be absent for a month of playing due to an ankle injury, but if he – or any other player – persists to perform consistently, 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 halt on that – to declare 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 chance. Why can’t there be one more player that steps up in June?”

But this growth, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s first talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to surprise him, to do something remarkable 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 restrictions’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into ‘let’s be competitors at the World Cup, and let’s go home and congratulate ourselves 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 sitting back and cheering something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have limits? Why not do it now?”