Australia men’s football team appointed Tony Popovic as the new head coach to help resurrect its FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign.
Last Friday, Graham Arnold resigned as the head coach of the Socceroos, after the team’s poor start to the third round of the qualifiers. Australia lost 0-1 at home to Bahrain before being held to a goalless draw away to Indonesia.
Australia will need to finish top two in Group C, which also involves Japan, Saudi Arabia and China, to directly qualify for the World Cup in the Americas.
Popovic will now be expected to turn things around starting next October with a home fixture against China before a tough trip to Japan.
READ | Arnold resigns as Australia coach after World Cup qualifying setbacks
Who is Popovic?
Popovic was a center back during his playing days with 58 caps to his name for the national team. He played in the 2006 World Cup but an injury cut his tournament short.
Popovic has played in the top division leagues in Australia, Japan, England and Qatar for over a two-decade-long career. He played in the Premier League with Crystal Palace in the 2004-05 campaign after earning promotion from the Championship.
The 51-year-old has been involved in coaching for over 10 years with stints at A-League clubs Western Sydney Wanderers, Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory. He has also coached Turkey’s Karabukspor and Greece’s Xanthi, where he was sacked less than six months into both the roles.
He led the Wanderers and Perth to the A-League Premiers title but hasn’t won the title since 2019.
He famously coached the Wanderers to the AFC Champions League crown in 2014 -- making it the only Australian side to ever achieve the feat. He won the Australia Cup with Victory in 2021 when he was voted A-League Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.
He had been a free agent since May, when he left the role at Victory after the loss in the A-League Grand final, and was linked with the Croatia’s Hajduk Split.
What did he say?
Upon his unveiling at Football Australia headquarters on Monday, Popovic said, “This campaign hasn’t started the best, but I know there’s enough time, there’s enough games,” Popovic.
“You know, we should be aiming for top spot to go through automatically.”
On Australia’s tepid start to the third round, he said, “Results can sometimes mask when something is good ... look at the history of what’s been done, a group of players that did remarkable things over there (in Qatar).
“I understand the responsibility that’s required and the expectation of everyone.”
With inputs from AFP
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