Multiple Authors
SYDNEY — What does Mauricio Pochettino have for breakfast? Socceroos boss Tony Popovic isn’t sure, but he’s not opposed to finding out, as he and his staff try to absorb everything there is to learn about the United States and the rest of their group-stage opponents ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup.
Just over four months on from the World Cup draw, and just three away from the tournament’s commencement, the planning and logistical work that goes into staging an assault on the world’s biggest sporting event is well underway for the Australians, who last month confirmed that the shared training facility of USL side the Oakland Roots and USLW outfit the Oakland Soul would serve as the Socceroos’ home away from home during the World Cup.
– Popovic admits Irvine was in danger of missing World Cup
– Socceroos Depth Chart: Australia’s likely World Cup squad
– Not a ‘lay-up’: USA clash could be the most hyped in Socceroos history
Drawn in Group D for the tournament alongside the United States, Paraguay, and a yet-to-be-determined European qualifier, the excitement that accompanied the draw has long since subsided for Popovic and his staff. And while the identity of their European foes won’t be known until the end of March, significant work has already been undertaken towards identifying the habits and trends of the opponents that they do know that they’ll be playing.
“We’ve got a wonderful staff that is looking at details you wouldn’t even imagine,” said Popovic. “All those little things that you look for. When that happens? If it happens two or three times, what’s the common trend? Or what’s the next thing that the team does or the coach does? So we’re trying to cover everything.
“Our focus predominantly is on us [but] we understand the opposition. We want to know where their strengths are and what kind of squad they could put together.
“All the coaches are really focused on how we can improve and get better. And of course, along the way, we have great coaches and great analysts who are preparing all the details to know everything about our opponents.”
Popovic’s preparations for the World Cup, however, extend far beyond booking training camps or building a dossier on the USMNT players and coach. In his first job as a national team coach, Popovic has spent significant time trying to plug gaps in his knowledge, preparing for his first-ever major international tournament, as well as coming to grips with FIFA’s new rules for the tournament.
Mauricio Pochettino’s United States defeated Tony Popovic’s Socceroos 2-1 in a friendly back in October 2025. Omar Vega/Getty Images
In the wake of the imposition of drinks breaks in every game at the tournament, for instance, a move that will effectively see World Cup matches broken up into four quarters, Popovic will be consulting with coaches in Australia’s AFL — Popovic himself an ardent Sydney Swans fan — who week-in and week-out devise gameplans centred on the concept.
“Why not? Nothing like that is out of the question,” he explained. “[AFL] have strategies after a quarter, what do they do in the first three or four minutes [of a quarter]? How do they get on top? What’s the strategy? How do they get back into the rhythm of the game?
“It’s a great question. And we are looking at all of that to see where we can get an advantage over the opponent, where we can be better than someone else. And that could be, certainly, something we’re looking at.”
While Popovic is finding fellow international coaches, understandably, guarded about their preparations, his shift away from club football has seen hitherto closed doors opened to him, such as a recent trip to Italy in which he and assistant Paul Okon visited Juventus. This also extends to collaborating with mentors from other codes, such as Rugby World Cup winner and current Japan boss Eddie Jones, with whom Popovic met with Tokyo last week.
“[He’s] coached at least four different nations, you’ve won a World Cup, you’ve done as many as five or six weeks of preparation,” said Popovic. “His insight … he was very open and showed me a lot of information, and how he learned from things that they did wrong. Whether it’s [access] family and friends, or whether it’s not giving enough days off to the staff or the players, and how do you manage those five or six weeks?
“Because we want to hit the first game at the highest level and hit the ground running, but we also don’t want to fall off a cliff straight after the first game. How do you keep going that way? I’m trying to learn as much as I can.
“We have our ideas and we have our own expert coaches and people here that are advising us and supporting us, but I plan to visit a few more people from different sports that have experienced that before, and see how we can manage that five six weeks the best we can that we can keep improving and getting better and better as the games go on.”
