After two months of crisis management Tony Popovic now has some time to think, and the Socceroos boss will need it as he tries to make sense of Australia's World Cup tie in Bahrain, and the qualifying group his team are in.
At the top of Group C with a nine-point cushion, sailing serenely towards the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026, are Japan, who have only dropped two points, at home to Australia last month.
