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As soon as Tony Popovic at last brought together his first Socceroos squad, the new coach detailed a set of requirements. The majority were straightforward and to the point – ideal considering the turmoil surrounding his abrupt appointment, in the wake of Graham Arnold’s departure, and with fewer than three weeks to prepare for vital 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “premier” attitude to deserve, or continue to earn that honour. But there was another message. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been cast more distinctly into focus with each step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Just over a year on from that gathering in an Adelaide hotel, many of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s expectations stay the same. The coach, for one, seems truly at home as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s image for discipline differs greatly with the expansive and at times light-hearted figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become periodic discussions with football media. So too have the fortunes of his team progressed, with thoughts of a loss to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia feeling fairly remote after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those wins 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 form that has taken the Socceroos to the unexpected brink of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances 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 respect.

While Popovic acknowledges that he began in the job thinking to only be able to rely on a key players of players, he now thinks the selection he can call upon has expanded. This is not only through the rise of youngsters such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the likes of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s development into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the ability to push Maty Ryan.

“The squad has completely changed in my mind – of what’s attainable with players that have entered,” 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 believe like there are 15, 20 players that have entered that, and I’m certain there are others to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unforeseen rise of talent, and the shift in thinking it has sparked in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the edges of the squad. Even those not yet regarded among those ranks can hold out hope that, in June next year, they could be on the flight. 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 – continues to deliver steadily, then the coach is stating plainly they’re highly likely of being part of his plans.

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

But this growth, in a way, leads 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 remarkable and go beyond the expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same attitude.

“Saying I want to do something exceptional is just ‘we don’t want to have limits’,” 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 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 cheering something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”