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As soon as Tony Popovic at last brought together his maiden Socceroos squad, the fresh coach presented a range of requirements. A lot were straightforward and direct – suitable in light of the turmoil around his unexpected appointment, after Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with under three weeks to make arrangements for crucial 2026 World Cup fixtures against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who aimed to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “elite” mindset to deserve, or continue to earn that honour. But there was a further theme. Not so much an order and more an evocation – and one that has been brought sharper into perspective with any step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Approximately a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s ambitions remain the same. The coach, for one, appears truly comfortable as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s image for discipline sharply contrasts with the expansive and at times cheerful figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become periodic discussions with football media. So too have the results of his team progressed, with thoughts of a setback to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia appearing fairly far off after successes over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s global tournament.

Those victories came as part of an 11-game winning streak under Popovic, one that was only broken away by the United States earlier this month. It’s performance that has taken the Socceroos to the surprising edge of breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November friendlies against Venezuela, currently positioned 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 respect.

While Popovic admits that he arrived in the job assuming to only be able to rely on a main squad of players, he now feels the selection he can call upon has swelled. This is not only through the emergence of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as authentic international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s development into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the capability to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has completely 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 outside of this. Just get by and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have entered 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 transformation in mindset it has sparked in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet considered within those group can keep faith that, by 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 – keeps to deliver steadily, then the coach is stating plainly they’re in with a shot of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a limit or a end on that – to reveal in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more new faces,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to feel that they have an possibility. Why can’t there be another player that steps up in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s introductory talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something special and rise above the expectations 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 box 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 deep 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?”