Very rarely in international football is one afforded a painless path forward. In a world governed by limited time and communication with squads, rapid turnarounds, extensive travel, and a talent pool ending at your nation’s borders, it’s not about doing things perfectly but instead finding a way to go close. For Tony Popovic, one of these crossroads moments arrived after the Socceroos punched their tickets for the World Cup back in June, when the stress of chasing qualification was replaced with ensuring Australia’s men were put in the best position to succeed at the tournament proper.
With four windows – eight games – between qualification and the announcement of his 26-man World Cup squad, would he zero in on his preferred unit as soon as possible, seeking to build cohesion and momentum? Or would he cast the net as wide as possible, examining the talent out there and seeing who might emerge as a genuine World Cup chance? In the end, he went with the latter and was duly rewarded with the likes of Paul Izzo, Nestory Irankunda, Mo Touré, Max Balard, Jacob Italiano and more, all emerging as genuine contributors at this level. “We may lose a little bit of balance, or maybe relationships on the park … the key is that come June, that we’re ready,” he said earlier this week.
