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When Tony Popovic at last assembled his initial Socceroos squad, the fresh coach detailed a range of standards. Most were straightforward and concise – perfect in light of the turmoil following his unexpected arrival, after Graham Arnold’s exit, and with fewer than three weeks to prepare for vital 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic asserted that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “premier” mindset to secure, or continue to earn that privilege. But there was another theme. Not so much an order and a call to greatness – and one that has been cast more distinctly into focus with any 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 hasn’t changed.”

Approximately a year on from that gathering in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s ambitions stay the same. The coach, for one, seems genuinely at home as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s reputation for austerity differs greatly with the expansive and at times jovial figure holding court for over an hour in what have become frequent sit-downs with football media. So too have the results of his team progressed, with thoughts of a setback to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia appearing rather distant after victories over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ place in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game unbeaten run under Popovic, one that was only snapped away by the United States earlier this month. It’s form that has taken the Socceroos to the unexpected edge of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The results of November exhibition games against Venezuela, presently ranked 50th in the world, and 13th-ranked Colombia – as well as Ecuador’s games against Canada and New Zealand, and the final games of European qualifying – loom large in this context.

While Popovic acknowledges that he arrived in the job expecting to only be able to count on a key players of players, he now thinks the group he can call upon has grown. This doesn't only come through the breakthrough of young players such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the cases of Miloš Degenek’s return from the wilderness and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a bona fide Socceroos keeper with the ability to challenge Maty Ryan.

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

This unforeseen emergence of talent, and the shift in mindset it has inspired in Popovic, has created opportunities for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet viewed within those group can hold out hope that, by June next year, they could be on the plane. 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 perform regularly, 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 end 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 know that they have an possibility. Why can’t there be an additional player that steps up in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, leads back to Popovic’s introductory talk as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to exceed expectations him, to do something special and rise above 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 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 celebrate for being there’.

“I keep saying it to the group: one day, Australia will go a long way 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?”