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As soon as Tony Popovic finally gathered his maiden Socceroos squad, the fresh coach detailed a range of requirements. The majority were clear and concise – ideal considering the turmoil around his sudden arrival, following Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with less than three weeks to make arrangements for vital 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “premier” mentality to earn, or maintain that distinction. But there was an additional theme. Less a demand and a call to greatness – and one that has been cast sharper into view with each step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

“My expectations were to do something special, in my first talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That remains the same.”

A little more than a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s expectations stay the same. The coach, for one, seems genuinely settled as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s image for discipline stands in stark contrast with the approachable and at times jovial figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become frequent interviews with football media. So too have the results of his team changed, with memories of a loss to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia feeling quite distant after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed 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 momentum that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely edge of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November warm-up matches against Venezuela, currently ranked 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 regard.

Although Popovic admits that he arrived in the job thinking to only be able to rely on a main squad of players, he now feels the selection he can rely on has grown. This doesn't only come through the rise of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as authentic international players. There are also the likes of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s growth into a true Socceroos keeper with the capability to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has totally changed in my mind – of what’s achievable with players that have joined,” 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 entered that, and I’m certain there are others to come that I feel can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unforeseen emergence of talent, and the transformation in mindset it has inspired in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet considered among those ranks can remain optimistic that, in June next year, they could be on the plane. A player like Adrian Segečić might be about to miss a month of playing due to an ankle injury, but if he – or any other player – persists to play regularly, then the coach is emphasizing they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a cap or a end on that – to announce 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 an additional 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 special and rise above the predictions others have for them, he wants his team to have the same mindset.

“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 participants 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 observing and praising something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”