Socceroos coach Tony Popovic says restoring Australia's football DNA is key to creating World Cup history

Tony Popovic isn't interested in limits.

He's a classic fighter, believer, motivator, hard taskmaster, born leader — in some ways an Australian football manager archetype, but with his own twist.

Popovic is uncompromising on his high standards across all areas on and off the pitch. He has refused to "beg" anyone to pledge allegiance to playing for Australia, and has made a commitment to defence over dazzling displays.

He is willing to be patient with unknown quantities in the squad in the hope they may just turn out to be miracle makers at the men's FIFA World Cup next year.

"We keep saying we want to try and do something special at the World Cup and I keep saying it to the group, 'One day Australia will go very far in the World Cup,'" Popovic said during an expansive one-hour discussion with journalists.

"And why not this group? Why do we have to wait? Why should we have limits?

"We want to give ourselves every chance of doing that."

According to Popovic, that means going further than the Socceroos have ever gone before — currently round 16, achieved at two World Cups.

He's sticking to the buzzwords that are so ingrained in the Australian sport psyche.

"As a nation in football and even in all codes, we are tough, we are resilient, we are hard to beat, we are hard to play against," he said.

That includes turning up the physicality and aggression, and ditching any nice guy mentality.

"From now on, I expect to see that toughness, that willingness to run and fight and chase and then on top of that, obviously, to constantly try and improve and get better," he said.

"But I feel we're building a squad and a lot of potential that in years to come can hopefully shed that tag of just the underdogs."

The signs were there in the last window against Canada and the USA, in a poacher's goal by Nestory Irankunda and his flare up towards the end of the Canada game, or the electrifying presence of Jordan Bos flashing up and down the flanks, or Alessandro Circati's growing stature in central defence and as a leader.

Popovic asks, "Why not?"

Now, it's up to his players to deliver the answer.

Solving the selection puzzle

World Cup squad selection could be one of the defining elements of executing Popovic's vision.

FIFA hasn't confirmed the squad size, which could be anywhere from 23 to 30 players, and Popovic doesn't want to close any doors, not yet anyway.

With just under eight months until the tournament, and two international windows left, he isn't just leaving the door ajar, but leaving it wide open for as many players as possible to secure their ticket to the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

No one's place is guaranteed, even after the last friendlies in March.

"I still feel from March to June that someone can surprise us, that someone [who] is in good form, playing extremely well … actually bypasses someone else," Popovic said.

"I want every player to feel that they have an opportunity, whether they're the experienced players that I've debuted here, like Luke Brattan or [Anthony] Caceres or the young players in [Max] Balard or Hayden Matthews or Jacob Italiano."

It's no surprise Popovic is opting for that approach — it has been there since he took over from Graham Arnold 13 months ago.

Popovic doesn't like sticking with the old faithful simply for sentimentality, and the selection shackles have been dispatched since locking in qualification unusually early, with new international caps freely flowing.

Depth in Australian football is sometimes lamented, or there are concerns that there aren't as many players in Europe's top five leagues, including none in the English Premier League.

But Popovic, who was part of the famed golden generation, isn't preoccupied with the past.

As far as he is concerned, the good old days are happening right now, just a bit differently to how he'd imagined.

Speaking to his managerial counterparts from undisclosed other countries has given Popovic a healthy perspective.

"They already have a list of 20 players because they have 40 to 50 on their list that are playing 40 to 50 games in the best leagues in the world, and they're looking for that five or six that will surprise them," he said.

"I don't have that. I don't think that's a negative. I don't feel that we're behind because of that.

"I believe that the squad has completely changed, in my mind, … what's possible with players that have come in.

"I first thought, 'This is my group, don't really have much outside of this, just make it work and make them better'.

"Now I feel like there are 15 to 20 players that have actually come into that and I'm sure there are more to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup."

The players that Popovic alludes to aren't household names just yet, but could soon be.

Injuries to centre-backs Harry Souttar and Matthews have been overcome with the injection of already anointed future long-term captain Circati and the experienced Miloš Degenek.

For so long, Australia's undisputed number one, Mat Ryan, now has a genuine challenger in Paul Izzo.

When the alarm bells were ringing with Jackson Irvine missing the final World Cup qualifiers through injury, the midfield replacements stepped up.

And the attacking threats — Mohamed Touré, 21, Irankunda, 19, and left-back Bos, 23 — are still emerging but packed with potential, although the latter may be forced to miss the next window due to a hamstring injury.

"When I joined, I never expected to see Miloš [Degenek] in the squad," Popovic said.

"Maybe I didn't expect to see Mo Touré or Irankunda so early at the level that they're at. But I knew they had it. I just wasn't sure when we would see it.

"So that's what excites me, I feel as though there's another player just around the corner that I'll be calling in now in November or in March."

New faces and depth

November's friendlies against Venezuela and Colombia in the US are a shrewd move — providing experience against South American opposition, including the World Cup-bound and higher-ranked Colombians, in two of the host cities — Houston and New York.

And there is still room for sentimentality alongside the pragmatism, with plans to play farewell matches in Australia in the March window.

More new faces are expected for both.

"We want to create competition … we don't want any players to feel that they are going to the World Cup and they will be playing at the World Cup," Popovic said.

There were no A-League men players in the last two windows, and with the season now back underway, the hype machine is already building around names like Alex Badolato, Max Caputo, and 2022's nearly-man Denis Genreau.

Popovic hasn't promised to parachute any of them in for the games in the US and has raised concerns over the lengthy off-season affecting domestic-based players.

And true to form, he isn't looking for a fixed starting XI, rather, options based on the dynamics of the game and continuing to build depth.

"You might have a number 10 that physically is great and running in behind, but then you need the balance of someone that's creative, that can play between the lines," he said.

"So it's trying to look at players [so] that we can get that right balance when it comes to the World Cup that we have different ways of hurting an opponent."

And as for what he wants from those still looking to make an impression?

"I just want to see high-level performance consistently every week, and that gives every player an opportunity."

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