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When Tony Popovic eventually brought together his maiden Socceroos squad, the fresh coach presented a series of requirements. Most were straightforward and direct – suitable in light of the disruption around his abrupt appointment, after Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with less than three weeks to make arrangements for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who aimed to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to take on an “top-tier” attitude to earn, or continue to earn that honour. But there was another point. Not so much an order and a call to greatness – and one that has been thrown sharper into view with every step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

“My hopes were to do something special, in my initial talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That hasn’t changed.”

A little more than a year on from that team talk in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s expectations are the same. The coach, for one, appears genuinely settled as Socceroos boss. The 52-year-old’s reputation for discipline differs greatly with the approachable and at times cheerful figure holding court for over an hour in what have become semi-regular discussions with football media. So too have the performances of his team changed, with recollections of a setback to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia appearing fairly remote after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June booked the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s global tournament.

Those victories came as part of an 11-game unbeaten run 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 brink of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November friendlies against Venezuela, presently placed 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 – loom large in this respect.

Even though Popovic acknowledges that he began in the job thinking to only be able to depend on a main squad of players, he now feels the group he can trust has grown. This is not only through the rise of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s growth into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the ability to challenge Maty Ryan.

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

This unexpected rise of talent, and the shift in thinking it has inspired in Popovic, has created opportunities for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet regarded amongst those ranks can hold out hope that, come 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 – continues to deliver steadily, then the coach is emphasizing they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a restriction or a halt 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 chance. Why can’t there be one more player that joins in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s initial talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something special and go beyond the predictions others have for them, he wants his team to have the same mindset.

“Saying I want to do something exceptional is just ‘we don’t want to have boundaries’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into ‘let’s be contenders at the World Cup, and let’s go home and celebrate for being there’.

“I emphasize 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 watching and applauding something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”