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The moment Tony Popovic at last gathered his maiden Socceroos squad, the new coach outlined a series of standards. A lot were clear and direct – ideal given the upheaval around his abrupt arrival, after Graham Arnold’s exit, and with less than three weeks to get ready for critical 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who hoped to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to embrace an “elite” attitude to deserve, or keep that honour. But there was another message. More an inspiration and more an evocation – and one that has been cast more distinctly into view with any step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

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

Approximately a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, plenty of other things have evolved, even if Popovic’s ambitions remain the same. The coach, for one, looks genuinely at home as Socceroos manager. The 52-year-old’s image for strictness differs greatly with the approachable and at times jovial figure holding court for over an hour in what have become semi-regular interviews with football media. Similarly have the fortunes of his team progressed, with thoughts of a loss to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia appearing quite distant after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June guaranteed the Socceroos’ place in next year’s worldwide 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 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, currently 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 – carry weight in this context.

Even though Popovic admits that he began in the job thinking to only be able to depend on a core group of players, he now feels the group he can trust has grown. This is not only through the rise of talented youth such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as authentic international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s comeback from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a true Socceroos keeper with the capability to compete with Maty Ryan.

“The squad has totally changed in my mind – of what’s attainable 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 make it work and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have joined that, and I’m certain there are more to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This surprising emergence of talent, and the shift in thinking it has brought about in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the fringes of the squad. Even those not yet regarded amongst those circle can keep faith that, by June next year, they could be on the roster. 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 – keeps to deliver 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 declare in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more inclusions,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to feel that they have an possibility. Why can’t there be an additional player that joins in June?”

But this expansion, 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 outstanding and exceed the expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same attitude.

“Saying I want to do something unique is just ‘we don’t want to have limits’,” 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 emphasize it to the group: one day, Australia will go deep 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 remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have boundaries? Why not do it now?”