When the final whistle blew in Jeddah last June, marking the conclusion of Australia's 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia and officially securing them passage to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Tony Popovic put himself in some rare company. He'd become just the third coach in Socceroos history to navigate qualification without a playoff and, with it, 12 precious months of planning for the global footballing showpiece.
Popovic, of course, is famous for his meticulous attention to detail and zealous determination to chase down any potential, no matter how small, on the chance that it proves to be the variable that proves the difference between victory and defeat.
Over the past year, he's leveraged the luxury of early qualification to experiment with personnel and approach in a series of friendly games. And while there are still questions hovering over the side, particularly around their ability to put the ball in the back of the net consistently, his tinkering has been rewarded with an expansion of the talent pool; the likes of Nestory Irankunda, Mohamed Touré, and Jacob Italiano all going from fringe players at best, to potential starters.
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We know, however, that Popovic hasn't just had the World Cup on his mind. On multiple occasions, be it in press conferences or media releases put out by Football Australia, the coach has referenced looking ahead to next year's Asian Cup, which we now know will see the Socceroos face Tajikistan, Singapore, and Graham Arnold's Iraq in the group stages.
One only needs to look at some of the squad selections that Popovic has made during the 12 months since qualification to observe this future-planning. Called into the Socceroos camp in Sarasota, Raphael Borges Rodrigues and Daniel Bennie might shape as long-shots for the World Cup (albeit, Lewis Miller's injury has opened up space at right wing-back), but they do shape as potential contributors six months later in Saudi Arabia. So, too, does Manchester United youngster James Overy, who was called up during the November window for friendlies without seeing the field, or even the likes of Alex Bonetig and Sebastian Esposito, who were part of an Abu Dhabi-based training camp ahead of last June's qualifiers.
And, given his meticulousness, it stands to reason that even if Popovic is keeping his cards close to his chest publicly, he's pondered his own Asian Cup prospects, too; the contract he signed to lead the Socceroos following the resignation of Arnold only took him through to the end of the side's 2026 FIFA World Cup cycle.
"It's an interesting question," Popovic said when pressed on his future last November. "In my mind, it's up until the World Cup, that's the agreement we have. And after the World Cup, we'll determine what happens next.
"But in terms of this job, as the head coach of Socceroos, we are planning, not just for now, but we're also planning for the future. These young players coming through are not all necessarily going to the World Cup, but there is a good chance that a lot of the group can be a part of the Asian Cup.
"Regardless of whether I'm here or not, it's I think it's my duty to not just think about this World Cup with players, but also think about setting something up that can give us sustained success and build a future for a new generation of players."
The Socceroos are Popovic's first foray into international management. And given his reputation for pushing himself, the chances of him wanting to test himself at the highest level of the club game are often the subject of water-cooler chat in Australian football -- especially if a strong World Cup would put him in a much stronger position to find a job with far friendlier circumstances than his first two forays in Europe. In adding Mile Jedinak to his coaching staff with the Socceroos, he's also brought in an assistant with Premier League experience, who would ostensibly prove a major asset should he follow him to clubland. Heck, unlikely as it would appear, both Popovic and Jedinak were well-respected figures at Crystal Palace -- a role that will become available once Oliver Glasner exits at the end of the season.
Regardless of what he wants to do in the future, however, a review will be undertaken of the Socceroos' performance across the cycle following the World Cup -- one that should not just go over the lessons of the past four years but also inform the federation's plans for the future, as well as the tenure of their coach. Speaking to ESPN, Football Australia executive director of football Heather Garriock confirmed that she would lead the post-tournament assessment, with support from the board's football development committee, chaired by Sam Ciccarello.
"Stability is the key for us," Garriock told ESPN. "We've got an incredible coach in Tony and someone that you know exemplifies the jersey, and Football Australia. Therefore, it's important for us to get the review underway after the tournament concludes.
"But in saying that, we are in a position where we then go straight into preparations for the Asian Cup, so we've got that in mind. And obviously things are under control as we speak, given that's my role and responsibility to make sure there's consistency and continuity.
"It's not a technical review, it's more a review of how we can do things better and continually build on that. It's fundamental to hear from the players, to hear from the support staff, but more importantly, to be able to, at my level and for the football development committee, to see an objective view and different trends that we can utilise to bounce off and improve our environment."
Four years ago, Football Australia moved quickly to retain the services of Graham Arnold following the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, signalling a desire to bring him back soon after the Socceroos' round of 16 elimination at the hands of eventual champions Argentina; inking him to a lucrative four-year extension the following month.
Arnold, though, ended up resigning just two years in, feeling he had taken the group as far as he could and burnt out by six years into the role, with the disappointment of a quarterfinal exit at the Asian Cup -- a tournament he felt the Socceroos were primed to win -- playing a major role. It continued a convention of no coach leading Australia to back-to-back men's World Cups, with both local mentors Ange Postecoglou and Arnold resigning their posts. Should he return for 2030, it's a trend Popovic -- and Football Australia -- would need to buck.
"I think the biggest issue with football in Australia, and Football Australia, is the consistency of turnover," Garriock told ESPN. "When you invest not just in the results, but you invest in the philosophy and the journey in which Tony embarked on some 18 months ago, then it's not just the results that are going to count. Other factors play into that; it's being able to make sure we're injecting youth in our Socceroos and national teams for sustained success going forward.
"Now, there are some incredibly exciting players that Tony has brought in, that it's performed on the world stage against some of the top, top nations. You've got Toure and Irankunda, and you've got some of the top young players coming through, and the excitement about that. But that doesn't come without a coach believing in the next generation and knowing that they can perform on the world stage. For too long, we've looked at just results, and there's more to Tony's performance and the team's performance, other than just the results."
Taken together, it certainly sounds like Football Australia would prefer if Popovic wanted to continue. And Garriock didn't try to evade that when it was put to her.
"Of course. You can't ask for a better leader," she said. "What he's done for the Socceroos, he's increased the belief and the expectation of this squad, but also bought a sense of elite. He's exemplified that in the support staff he's brought in, the standards he's brought in, but more importantly, he's sticking to what we believe in terms of our football department.
"He's building for sustained success. We want to be successful now, but also in the future as well. And the youth that he's brought in, you know, really demonstrates that. And so, therefore, within what we're looking for in a coach, Tony Popovic is obviously incredible in terms of what he's brought to Football Australia."
