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When Tony Popovic eventually brought together his initial Socceroos squad, the fresh coach outlined a series of standards. The majority were clear and direct – suitable given the turmoil following his sudden appointment, following Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with under three weeks to make arrangements for critical 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who hoped to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “top-tier” attitude to earn, or keep that distinction. But there was an additional theme. More an inspiration and more an evocation – and one that has been cast sharper into view with each step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

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

A little more than a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, many of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s goals remain the same. The coach, for one, appears truly comfortable as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for strictness differs greatly with the expansive and at times light-hearted figure holding court for over an hour in what have become frequent sit-downs with football media. Likewise have the results of his team improved, with thoughts of a defeat to Bahrain and stalemate with Indonesia appearing fairly far off after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those wins came as part of an 11-game unbeaten run under Popovic, one that was only snapped away by the United States earlier this month. It’s form that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely precipice of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November exhibition games against Venezuela, currently 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 – carry weight in this regard.

Although Popovic concedes that he began in the job expecting to only be able to rely on a key players of players, he now believes the pool he can call upon has swelled. This doesn't only come through the emergence of young players such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as genuine international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s growth into a true Socceroos keeper with the ability to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has completely 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 truly 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 additional ones to come that I feel can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This surprising emergence of talent, and the change in outlook it has sparked in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet viewed among those group can hold out hope that, in June next year, they could be on the plane. 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 regularly, then the coach is emphasizing they’re highly likely of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a restriction or a stop on that – to announce in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more inclusions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to know that they have an possibility. Why can’t there be an additional player that comes in in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s initial address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something special and rise above 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 boundaries’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to confine ourselves into ‘let’s be competitors at the World Cup, and let’s go home and celebrate 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 applauding something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”