3 minute read

Tony Popovic faces a rapid induction as Socceroos boss after replacing Graham Arnold, while his appointment has opened the door for fresh faces.

Tony Popovic's appointment as Socceroos coach has given players on the periphery a new lease on life and hope they can charge into the international spotlight.

And his former Melbourne Victory charges are adamant the experienced mentor has what it takes to succeed.

After being unveiled as Graham Arnold's replacement on Monday, the 51-year-old is set for a rapid baptism as he attempts to quickly turn around Australia's World Cup qualification campaign.

Three weeks from now, Popovic will be attempting to down China in Adelaide on October 10 in his first game in charge, before taking on unbeaten Group C leaders Japan in Saitama five days later.

Three points across those two games will be a minimum expectation if the Socceroos want to qualify automatically after a winless start to round three with a home loss to Bahrain and a draw away to Indonesia.

Popovic will name his first squad next week and is expected to have Riley McGree and Ajdin Hrustic, who missed the September qualifiers due to injury, at his disposal.

Left-back Jordan Bos is also likely to come into calculations.

But for those out of favour under Arnold, it could be a new lease on life.

"We have to honour the shirt, and there must be an expectation to play for the Socceroos and any player, regardless of age, young or older, will all be looked at and anyone that deserves a chance will get one," Popovic said.

Those words have players excited.

"He made a point to let every every Australian player in Australia or overseas know that you're in the mix, regardless of how many caps you've had, where you're playing," Victory full-back and one-cap Socceroo Jason Geria told AAP.

"If you're playing to a level he thinks is satisfactory, you could get a call-up.

"That's really important because it gives a lot of players hope and something to work towards.

"It really puts a fire in a lot of players as well, because there's a lot of guys who probably thought they were never gonna be in the mix again."

Winger Daniel Arzani added to AAP: "New coach comes in, it's fair game for everyone."

Western Sydney attacker Brandon Borrello planned to reach out to Arnold, but was keen to impress the new boss.

"Popa said in one of his first interviews, the A-League boys are on show now," he said.

"I want to play at a World Cup, I was a part of 12 qualifiers but wasn't able to go to a World Cup."

Arzani thrived under Popovic's demanding style of coaching and expected it to translate to international football.

"He's very meticulous in everything that he does. His prep for the games will be really on point," he said.

"Another thing that Popa does really well and you've seen it everywhere that he's gone is he gets the best out of the players and that's a big thing.

"When you go away with the national team you don't have that much time to be putting in place any crazy tactics or anything like that.

"You just want to get the best out of what you have and that's where he excels."

Geria added: "He has the pedigree for the job.

"On a national level, he's the perfect person to really bring back the meaning to getting even one Socceroos cap or one Socceroos call-up, because it is a really special thing.

"Bringing that back is going to help the team a lot."

Backroom changes are also afoot.

Arnold's assistant Rene Meulensteen has told Dutch media he has finished up, while goalkeeping coach John Crawley is also expected to depart.