Tony Popovic turns attention to finer details as Socceroos close in on 2026 FIFA World Cup

Socceroos coach Tony Popovic is known for his attention to detail.

He's fastidious about diet and will plan to the finest detail.

Take FIFA's decision to introduce drinks breaks during every World Cup match when the tournament is played this June and July in the US, Mexico and Canada.

With the Socceroos due to play their three pool matches in the north-west of the US and Vancouver in Canada, heat won't be a problem.

But Popovic says he may reach out to the Sydney Swans AFL coach, Dean Cox, about how to manage those breaks.

"Why not? Nothing like that is out of the question," he said.

"They (AFL teams) have strategies for after a quarter: what do they do in the first three or four minutes, how do they get back in the rhythm of the game?

"We are looking at all of that to see where we can get an advantage over the opponent and where we can be better than someone else."

Popovic said his coaches and analysts are poring over the smallest details to know everything about the Socceroos' opponents: a European qualifier in Vancouver, the US in Seattle and Paraguay in San Francisco.

"Details you wouldn't imagine," he said.

And he's teasing out other minutiae, like how to keep the squad content and focused for up to six weeks — something that Popovic hasn't experienced yet in his time as head coach.

Will they get sick of the sight of him?

"Ten days, I've done the camps now," he said.

"I understand where everyone is at day eight, nine, 10, where it's so intense that you think, 'Okay, everyone almost looks like they need a break from me.'

"But how do you manage five or six weeks?"

He said he recently had breakfast with the former Australia Rugby Union coach Eddie Jones in Tokyo to ask him that very question.

"When you've coached at least four different nations, you've won a World Cup, you've done many five or six-week preparations," Popovic said.

"He was very open, and showed me a lot of information, and also how he learnt from things that they had done wrong, whether it's family and friends, or not giving enough days off to the staff or the players.

"We want to hit the first game at the highest level, and hit the ground running, but we don't want to fall off a cliff after the first game.

"I plan to visit a few more people from different sports that have experienced that before, and see how we can manage those five, six weeks the best we can, so that we can improve and get better and better as the games go on."

In his 18 months in charge of the national men's team, Popovic has selected more than 60 players.

Now he's beginning the mental process of whittling that figure down in preparation for the World Cup, which begins in June.

That means watching hours and hours of football every week, tracking games played by Australians spread around the world. Popovic has just returned from a scouting trip, which took him to Italy and Japan.

"We watch a fair bit. You want to monitor all the Australians, which is not easy," he said.

"I just like to see it myself as well. I can get told 'so and so played really well' or 'he's improved a certain part of his game', then I want to go back in and see that for myself.

"I even like seeing them when they're struggling because it's what happens after the struggle that I'm interested in.

"It's exciting. I enjoy watching the boys."

The latest mission for the Socceroos is a crucial window later this month with games against Cameroon in Sydney on March 27 and Curaçao in Melbourne four days later — the team's final games at home before the World Cup.

It's also the first time Popovic has been with his squad since the wins over Venezuela and Colombia last November.

"This window is really an important one to bring everyone back in just to remind everyone what we're doing and why we're doing it and what we're preparing for," he said.

It's not quite the last chance to impress Popovic, but time is running out for fringe players.

"Maybe this window we're starting to look at players … that maybe make an impact at the World Cup. As opposed to previous campaigns, where we've been thinking of the bigger picture.

"We'll try to select regardless of age that we feel have a chance to go to the World Cup."

Of crucial importance — as always with the Socceroos — is who can fill the striker role with some of the first-choice options down with injury.

Mohamed Toure, who began the year in blistering goal-scoring form for Norwich City in the English Championship, is recovering from a groin injury that will see him out of action for about six weeks.

Nick D'Agostino, who returned to the A-League this year from Norway, suffered a knee injury earlier this month and is expected to be out for six weeks.

Kusini Yengi, who plays in Japan with Cerezo Osaka, has injured his quad and is out up to three months.

Popovic said he would be looking to his wide midfielders to move into a central role.

"Any of our wingers could play that nine (central striker) role," he said.

"I don't think this is the time just to bring in someone that's a nine, to bring him in for the first time without any thought of him being at the World Cup.

"We're better served to try to some existing players that we know will be part of our 26 or 30 players and experiment in a little in these games," Povic said.

The final countdown for the World Cup will begin in Florida with a camp for players who have finished their club campaigns.

The final World Cup squad of 26 will be announced by June 1 at the latest, although the team is allowed to carry up to nine extra train-on players up until the team's first game.

The Socceroos have a friendly against Mexico at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles on May 31 and will have one last hit-out in early June against a yet-to-be-named opposition before their first World Cup match on June 13 in Vancouver.