SARSOTA, Florida — Socceroos coach Tony Popovic asked, ‘Why can’t this group do something special?’ in his final media appearance before departing for the United States and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. ‘We’ll go into the tournament with that mindset,’ he said, adding, ‘Can it be us that does something special and goes further than Australia ever has before?’
Four years ago in Qatar, Graham Arnold’s side were widely labelled as the worst Socceroos team to qualify in the modern era, only to reach the knockout stages and push eventual champions Argentina. Mathew Leckie’s goal against Denmark was cited as an example of that 2022 campaign’s surprise moments.
The squad for 2026 is due to be named on June 1. After securing automatic qualification, the national team has had 12 months to blood and integrate younger players, a process aided by A-League clubs’ academies and the implementation of a national curriculum that the article says is beginning to come of age.
Popovic will be the first Socceroos coach at a World Cup who was a former World Cup player. He was part of the squad that ended 32 years of World Cup absence by qualifying for Germany in 2006, a cohort popularly known as the ‘Golden Generation.’ Football Australia marked the 20th anniversary of that era’s penalty shootout victory over Uruguay at Stadium Australia last November.
Recent reports from AAP have linked former players Mark Schwarzer and Tim Cahill with postings at Football Australia. The article notes that the Golden Generation remains the benchmark against which subsequent Socceroos teams are measured, but says the comparison may carry less burden for this group.
With young talents such as Nestory Irankunda, Mohamed Toure, Jordan Bos and Alessandro Circati among the ranks, the piece concludes that the weight of expectation tied to the Golden Generation label will not be present to the same degree at this World Cup. Final judgment on results will have to wait until the tournament is played.
