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As soon as Tony Popovic finally brought together his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach detailed a range of standards. A lot were straightforward and direct – ideal given the disruption around his unexpected arrival, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with less than three weeks to make arrangements for vital 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “premier” mindset to secure, or continue to earn that distinction. But there was a further theme. Less a demand and an invitation to excel – and one that has been cast more distinctly into focus with any step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

“My hopes were to do something remarkable, in my initial 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 shifted, even if Popovic’s ambitions are the same. The coach, for one, seems really settled as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s reputation for austerity sharply contrasts with the expansive and at times light-hearted figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become periodic interviews with football media. Likewise have the performances of his team changed, with memories of a setback to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia feeling quite far off after successes over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game undefeated streak under Popovic, one that was only ended away by the United States earlier this month. It’s form that has taken the Socceroos to the unexpected precipice of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November warm-up matches against Venezuela, presently ranked 50th in the world, and 13th-ranked Colombia – as well as Ecuador’s games against Canada and New Zealand, and the last games of European qualifying – are significant in this context.

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

“The squad has completely 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 truly have much beyond this. Just manage and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have come into that, and I’m sure 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 thinking it has sparked in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet regarded among those circle can remain optimistic that, come June next year, they could be on the flight. 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 steadily, then the coach is making clear they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a limit or a stop 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 believe that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be another player that steps up in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s introductory address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress 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 limits’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to box ourselves into ‘let’s be participants 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 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 cheering something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”