Even before a ball was kicked in the Socceroos’ two-game series against Brazil, Tony Popovic was musing about the shift in demeanour he’d noticed among the players. Yes, it had only been three months since they last saw each other at the World Cup, but change, the coach felt, was afoot. And while that may not seem like sufficient time for a notable shift in mentality, it would be in keeping with a journey that began more than 12 months ago, when their World Cup qualification was sealed early.
Because as well entrenched as the players may now feel in the squad and the public consciousness, it’s worth remembering that when Australia beat Saudi Arabia and punched their tickets to North America in June 2025, neither Nestory Irankunda nor Mohamed Touré were regular selections. Their true international breakouts came in the October friendlies against New Zealand. Paul Okon-Engstler, Patrick Beach, and Lucas Herrington had not made their debuts, while Cristian Volpato was still playing for Italy’s junior teams. Jacob Italiano was toiling in relative obscurity in Austria and Tete Yengi was known as “Kusini’s younger brother”.
