Poletti 
Tony Popovic coached the Western Sydney Wanderers to the AFC Champions League Title. Photo: Wikipedia Commons - Macktheknifeau CC BY-SA 3.0 cropped
Football Australia announced on Monday that Tony Popovic will replace Graham Arnold as manager of the Socceroos, the deal running until the end of the Men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Following a 1-0 loss to Bahrain and a scoreless draw against Indonesia to start the third round of World Cup qualification, Arnold chose to resign as coach, following his gut instinct that it was the right time to walk away.
Despite coming in at a crucial point in the campaign, with only one point from the first two games, Popovic believes there is enough time to turn things around.
“The Socceroos are in a good position. We’ve had some great success recently at the World Cup,” Popovic said.
“This campaign hasn’t started the best, but I know there’s enough time, there are enough games.
“We should be aiming for that top spot to go through automatically.”
He also indicated that he believed in was the best time to take over the role, despite the results seemingly indicating otherwise, saying that results can sometimes mask when something is good as well.
“The results haven’t been good in the first two games, but look at the history of what’s been done with the Socceroos,” he said.
“Have a look at the World Cup, have a look at a fantastic group of players that did remarkable things over there.
“A lot of those players are still there so the talent remains, and a lot of young players have come through, and there are probably a lot of other players who are waiting for their opportunity.
“When you say the Socceroos job doesn’t come around often, five years ago I wasn’t ready for this role. Three years ago, two years ago I wouldn’t have looked at this role.
“I’m ready. I want this job. I’m here because I want to be here.”
The 51-year-old did not indicate when asked what sort of style or tactical approach he will expect the side to play for the upcoming window, but assured there will be a different style of play, expecting the side to be a very dynamic team and play quicker when the Socceroos host China in Adelaide.
Popovic indicated his immediate focus will be on working on selecting the squad for the upcoming games against China and Japan, and seeing who is fit and available, as well as players who have not been selected in recent camps.
He also indicated that we could see some A-League Men players, despite the season not kicking off until October 18, which was a big criticism under Arnold, who opted for a more European based squad due to a lack of match minutes for Australian based players.
“There are players obviously in the A-League, not having their competition [running], are maybe a little bit behind in terms of their conditioning, but they shouldn’t be discounted either.
“I’ve seen Aziz Behich play the last couple of games and he’s from the A-League. He doesn’t have that European conditioning and played well in both games.
“The A-League players should all be aware and know they could also get selected for this game.”
Popovic said he will be based in Australia during his time as Socceroos coach, rather than in Europe, which was a big criticism of Tony Gustavsson’s time in charge of the Matildas, delegating that to his assistants.
With the A-League Men competition a few weeks away, having the national team coach based in Australia, particularly during the large gap in international windows between November and March, will provide plenty of opportunity for Popovic to interact and observe the domestically based talent vying for a Socceroos spot.
Football Australia CEO James Johnson said that the decision to appoint Popovic as the new permanent coach was to give the players, staff, and organisation clarity heading into the next window.
“We also wanted to make the appointment early because we wanted to give Popa as much time to prepare for China as we possibly could in the circumstances,” Johnson said.
“We believe that Tony understands how to navigate through complex Asian competitions.
“We are extremely excited by the appointment of Popa. I want to reiterate, as I said on Friday, we’re excited about the new chapter for Australian football and the Socceroos in the appointment of Tony.
“We have every bit of confidence that Tony will succeed, and the team will succeed under the leadership of Tony.”