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As soon as Tony Popovic eventually assembled his maiden Socceroos squad, the fresh coach detailed a range of expectations. A lot were clear and to the point – perfect in light of the turmoil surrounding his unexpected appointment, after Graham Arnold’s departure, and with less than three weeks to get ready for critical 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic insisted that any player who aimed to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “top-tier” mindset to secure, or keep that distinction. But there was a further theme. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been brought more distinctly into view with any step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Just over a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have shifted, even if Popovic’s goals remain the same. The coach, for one, appears genuinely at home as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s reputation for discipline stands in stark contrast with the expansive and at times light-hearted figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become periodic interviews with football media. Similarly have the fortunes of his team improved, with recollections of a defeat to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia seeming quite remote after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s international tournament.

Those wins came as part of an 11-game undefeated 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 breaking into pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November warm-up matches 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 remaining games of European qualifying – loom large in this regard.

While Popovic admits that he started in the job assuming to only be able to rely on a core group of players, he now believes the pool he can trust has expanded. 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 return from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s development into a true Socceroos keeper with the ability to challenge Maty Ryan.

“The squad has totally changed in my mind – of what’s possible with players that have come in,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t really have much outside of this. Just manage and make them better.’ Now, I feel like there are 15, 20 players that have entered that, and I’m sure there are others to come that I feel can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected rise of talent, and the shift in thinking it has sparked in Popovic, has opened the door for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet viewed among those ranks can keep faith that, by 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 – persists to deliver steadily, then the coach is making clear they’re highly likely of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a cap or a stop on that – to declare in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more additions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to know that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be one more player that joins in June?”

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

“Saying I want to do something unique is just ‘we don’t want to have boundaries’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to confine 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 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 observing and cheering something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”