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When Tony Popovic eventually gathered his maiden Socceroos squad, the recently appointed coach detailed a range of requirements. A lot were unambiguous and direct – perfect considering the upheaval around his unexpected entry, after Graham Arnold’s exit, and with fewer than three weeks to make arrangements for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “elite” mentality to deserve, or maintain that privilege. But there was another point. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been thrown sharper into perspective with every step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Just over 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 genuinely comfortable as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s standing for strictness sharply contrasts with the expansive and at times jovial figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become semi-regular interviews with football media. Likewise have the performances of his team progressed, with recollections of a setback to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia appearing rather remote after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ place in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those wins 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 brink of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November warm-up matches against Venezuela, at the moment 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.

Even though Popovic concedes that he began in the job expecting to only be able to count on a main squad of players, he now feels the group he can rely on has grown. This is not only through the breakthrough of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the capability to push 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 fully have much apart from this. Just manage and make them better.’ Now, I feel like there are 15, 20 players that have entered that, and I’m convinced there are additional ones 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 brought about in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet regarded amongst those circle can hold out hope 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 – continues to perform consistently, then the coach is making clear they’re in with a shot of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a limit 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 believe that they have an possibility. Why can’t there be an additional player that joins in June?”

But this expansion, in a way, brings us back to Popovic’s first address as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to impress him, to do something outstanding and exceed the hopes 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 restrictions’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to box ourselves into ‘let’s be competitors at the World Cup, and let’s go home and pat each other on the back 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 watching and praising something special from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”