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The moment Tony Popovic finally brought together his first Socceroos squad, the new coach presented a series of standards. Most were unambiguous and direct – suitable considering the upheaval around his sudden entry, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with under three weeks to prepare for critical 2026 World Cup fixtures against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who aspired to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “top-tier” mindset to secure, or maintain that distinction. But there was another point. Not so much an order and an invitation to excel – and one that has been cast more distinctly into view with every step taken on the journey towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Approximately a year on from that gathering in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s ambitions remain the same. The coach, for one, seems genuinely comfortable as Socceroos boss. The 52-year-old’s standing for strictness differs greatly with the expansive and at times cheerful figure speaking freely for over an hour in what have become semi-regular interviews with football media. Similarly have the performances of his team changed, with memories of a loss to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia seeming quite distant after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ place in next year’s international tournament.

Those triumphs 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 unlikely brink of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November exhibition games against Venezuela, at the moment 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 – are significant in this regard.

While Popovic concedes that he began in the job assuming to only be able to rely on a key players of players, he now thinks the pool he can trust has expanded. This isn’t just through the emergence of young players such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the likes of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s growth into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the capability to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has totally 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 fully have much apart from this. Just make it work and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have come into that, and I’m sure there are more to come that I feel can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This surprising emergence of talent, and the shift in mindset it has brought about in Popovic, has created opportunities for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet regarded among those group can keep faith that, in June next year, they could be on the flight. A player like Adrian Segečić might be about to be absent for a month of playing due to an ankle injury, but if he – or any other player – continues to play steadily, 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 cap or a halt 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 chance. Why can’t there be an additional player that joins in June?”

But this growth, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s first talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to surprise him, to do something remarkable and go beyond the hopes 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 boundaries’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into ‘let’s be participants at the World Cup, and let’s go home and pat each other on the back for being there’.

“I repeat 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 exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”