Tony Popovic delcares Boltah Watch SZN open
After reassessing his views on Australia’s playing stocks across the past year, Socceroos coach Tony Popovic is throwing open the doors for any Aussie to impress ahead of 2026
The World Cup Boltah™
It’s one of the foundational pieces of the build-up to a World Cup everywhere around the world; feverish discussions about which players might come from nowhere and force their way into contention to play on football’s biggest stage. You don’t need much to get the conversation rolling, either: a flashy goal here or a run of a few good games there and all of a sudden speculation begins to mount. And after being forced to reconsider his views on Australia’s playing stocks across the past year, Socceroos coach Tony Popovic isn’t going to stand in the way of this quadrennial tradition in 2026, either, signalling this week that any player, young or old, will be given the chance to prove they belong in his World Cup squad right up to its announcement.
The first Nishan Velupillay and the most recent Jacob Italiano, Popovic has given debuts to nine players during his one year as Socceroos coach, as well as overseen the return of players such as Jason Geria and Miloš Degenek to the international fold. This has all come amid an eleven-game unbeaten run – one that came to an end against the United States in Denver earlier this month – that saw Australia secure automatic qualification for the global showpiece for the first time in over a decade.
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Four of the debutants – Paul Izzo, Nicolas Milanović, Max Balard, and Italiano – all made their bows since those tickets were North America were punched and, with games against Venezuela and Colombia in the United States locked in for November, this time in FIFA World Cup host cities Houston and New York, the coach appears set to expose younger players in his squad, alongside a sprinkling of experienced veterans, to the ins and outs of international football in the coming window.
“It may be an opportunity for more players to get exposed, players that don’t have international experience, and maybe some more players that get a debut – we’re very open to that,” said the coach. “And then seeing which players can keep growing for the World Cup.”
Now admittedly, Popovic will eventually have to start to zero in on the 26 players he envisions being part of his squad next year. There will be just one more international window – next March – to test players ability to meet his expectations and their cohesion with potential teammates before he names his squad and, while the coach expressed a belief that the extended build-up the team will have together before the World Cup will provide ample time to find a groove, every extra bit continuity will be an advantage when play begins next June.
At the same time, however, the coach, who has preached players needing to take their game to an elite level, and keep it there, is refusing to shut the door on players staging a late run at the squad – which, by extension, also serves as a warning to those that would probably be seen as holding an edge from allowing standards to drop.
“I envisage maybe in March, I have a better idea,” Popovic said when asked when he’d start to zero in on his final squad. “But I still feel that from March to June, that someone can surprise us; that someone who is in good form, who is playing extremely well, actually bypasses someone else.
“And I don’t want to put a limit or a stop on that -- to announce in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more additions. No, I want every player to feel that they have an opportunity.
“Whether they’re the experienced players that I’ve debuted here, like a Luke Bratton or Anthony Caceres or the young players in Max Balard or Hayden Matthews or Jacob Italiano. Why can’t there be another player that comes into June?”
Had you asked the coach if this would be his approach when he first took over, and he was feeling particularly candid at that moment, you probably would have got a response in the negative. Speaking to media this week, the 51-year-old admitted that he hadn’t expected to have a wide talent pool to call upon when he first took on the role, but had seen enough over the past 12 months to reassess.
JDL Media is committed to keeping its reporting on Australian football away from paywalls.
If you’re in a position to, please consider supporting this coverage at Ko-Fi.
It’s here that the coach is benefiting, in part, from the tenure of his predecessor Graham Arnold, who undertook a deliberate policy of renewal in the national team, which included taking over as Olyroos coach during the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics and seeking out dual-nationals, in addition to navigating the challenges of closed borders during the COVID pandemic.
And while there’s been some level of inevitable attrition from the astounding 48 players that were given their debuts under Arnold, the re-emergence of players such as Sam Silvera, Patrick Yazbek, Alex Robertson, Cammy Devlin, as well as the play of more seasoned veterans such as Degenek, has done enough to persuade Popovic that the cupboard might not be as bare as he first anticipated.
“The idea I had when I first took over, the squad has completely changed in my mind of what’s possible with players that have come in,” Popovic said. “I first thought, ‘Okay, 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 15,20 players that have 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.”
Header Image: Socceroos
od games there and all of a sudden speculation begins to mount. And after being forced to reconsider his views on Australia’s playing stocks across the past year, Socceroos coach Tony Popovic isn’t going to stand in the way of this quadrennial tradition in 2026, either, signalling this week that any player, young or old, will be given the chance to prove they belong in his World Cup squad right up to its announcement.
The first Nishan Velupillay and the most recent Jacob Italiano, Popovic has given debuts to nine players during his one year as Socceroos coach, as well as overseen the return of players such as Jason Geria and Miloš Degenek to the international fold. This has all come amid an eleven-game unbeaten run – one that came to an end against the United States in Denver earlier this month – that saw Australia secure automatic qualification for the global showpiece for the first time in over a decade.
JDL Media is committed to keeping its reporting on Australian football away from paywalls.
If you’re in a position to, please consider supporting this coverage at Ko-Fi.
Four of the debutants – Paul Izzo, Nicolas Milanović, Max Balard, and Italiano – all made their bows since those tickets were North America were punched and, with games against Venezuela and Colombia in the United States locked in for November, this time in FIFA World Cup host cities Houston and New York, the coach appears set to expose younger players in his squad, alongside a sprinkling of experienced veterans, to the ins and outs of international football in the coming window.
“It may be an opportunity for more players to get exposed, players that don’t have international experience, and maybe some more players that get a debut – we’re very open to that,” said the coach. “And then seeing which players can keep growing for the World Cup.”
Now admittedly, Popovic will eventually have to start to zero in on the 26 players he envisions being part of his squad next year. There will be just one more international window – next March – to test players ability to meet his expectations and their cohesion with potential teammates before he names his squad and, while the coach expressed a belief that the extended build-up the team will have together before the World Cup will provide ample time to find a groove, every extra bit continuity will be an advantage when play begins next June.
At the same time, however, the coach, who has preached players needing to take their game to an elite level, and keep it there, is refusing to shut the door on players staging a late run at the squad – which, by extension, also serves as a warning to those that would probably be seen as holding an edge from allowing standards to drop.
“I envisage maybe in March, I have a better idea,” Popovic said when asked when he’d start to zero in on his final squad. “But I still feel that from March to June, that someone can surprise us; that someone who is in good form, who is playing extremely well, actually bypasses someone else.
“And I don’t want to put a limit or a stop on that -- to announce in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more additions. No, I want every player to feel that they have an opportunity.
“Whether they’re the experienced players that I’ve debuted here, like a Luke Bratton or Anthony Caceres or the young players in Max Balard or Hayden Matthews or Jacob Italiano. Why can’t there be another player that comes into June?”
Had you asked the coach if this would be his approach when he first took over, and he was feeling particularly candid at that moment, you probably would have got a response in the negative. Speaking to media this week, the 51-year-old admitted that he hadn’t expected to have a wide talent pool to call upon when he first took on the role, but had seen enough over the past 12 months to reassess.
JDL Media is committed to keeping its reporting on Australian football away from paywalls.
If you’re in a position to, please consider supporting this coverage at Ko-Fi.
It’s here that the coach is benefiting, in part, from the tenure of his predecessor Graham Arnold, who undertook a deliberate policy of renewal in the national team, which included taking over as Olyroos coach during the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics and seeking out dual-nationals, in addition to navigating the challenges of closed borders during the COVID pandemic.
And while there’s been some level of inevitable attrition from the astounding 48 players that were given their debuts under Arnold, the re-emergence of players such as Sam Silvera, Patrick Yazbek, Alex Robertson, Cammy Devlin, as well as the play of more seasoned veterans such as Degenek, has done enough to persuade Popovic that the cupboard might not be as bare as he first anticipated.
“The idea I had when I first took over, the squad has completely changed in my mind of what’s possible with players that have come in,” Popovic said. “I first thought, ‘Okay, 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 15,20 players that have 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.”
Header Image: Socceroos