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When Tony Popovic at last assembled his initial Socceroos squad, the new coach presented a series of expectations. Most were straightforward and concise – perfect in light of the disruption following his sudden entry, following Graham Arnold’s exit, and with fewer than three weeks to make arrangements for vital 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aspired to wear a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “premier” attitude to deserve, or maintain that honour. But there was a further point. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been cast more distinctly into view with each step taken on the path towards the World Cup in North America.

“My expectations were to do something remarkable, in my first talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That hasn’t changed.”

A little more than a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s expectations remain the same. The coach, for one, appears genuinely settled as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s standing for discipline sharply contrasts with the expansive and at times jovial figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become periodic discussions with football media. So too have the performances of his team changed, with thoughts of a setback to Bahrain and draw with Indonesia feeling fairly remote after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ berth in next year’s international tournament.

Those triumphs came as part of an 11-game winning streak under Popovic, one that was only snapped away by the United States earlier this month. It’s performance that has taken the Socceroos to the unexpected precipice of entering pot two in the World Cup draw. The performances of November exhibition games 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 – loom large in this respect.

Although Popovic concedes that he arrived in the job thinking to only be able to rely on a main squad of players, he now believes the group he can call upon has swelled. This is not only through the rise of young players such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as real international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the obscurity and Paul Izzo’s growth into a true Socceroos keeper with the capability to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has entirely changed in my mind – of what’s attainable with players that have joined,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t really have much beyond this. Just get by and make them better.’ Now, I feel like there are 15, 20 players that have entered that, and I’m convinced there are others 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 outlook it has sparked in Popovic, has created opportunities for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet considered amongst those circle can hold out hope that, come June next year, they could be on the flight. 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 – persists to deliver regularly, then the coach is emphasizing they’re every chance of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a limit 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 believe that they have an opportunity. Why can’t there be an additional player that steps up 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 exceed expectations him, to do something special and go beyond the expectations 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 contenders 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 applauding something exceptional from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”