BERKELEY, California -- Tony Popovic has no doubts that the Socceroos will reap the benefits of their youthful 2026 FIFA World Cup in the years to come, pointing to the journey his own Golden Generation experienced as an example. At the same time, though, he doesn't want to dampen anyone's expectation about what his newly announced 26-player squad can achieve in the weeks ahead.
Featuring eight players aged 23 or under and 11 with fewer than 10 international appearances, on Sunday Popovic confirmed that he would bring a squad with an average age of 26.8 to the World Cup -- a unit trailing only Ange Postecoglou's 2014 side as the youngest the Socceroos have ever sent to the global showpiece.
Bolstered by experienced veterans such as Mathew Leckie, Mathew Ryan and Jackson Irvine, it's a fresh-faced cohort that has generated significant excitement Down Under, not only about what they can do at this year's tournament but also in the years ahead -- with Postecoglou's 2014 side having laid the foundation for an Asian Cup win in 2015.
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It's something that excites Popovic, too. But he also reiterated on Sunday evening that the young players in his squad such as Nestory Irankunda, Lucas Herrington, Jordan Bos, Alessandro Circati, Mohamed Toure, Paul Okon, and Cristian Volpato, weren't just present for the future but because of what they can do right now.
"I don't want to dampen anyone's expectations," he said. "Will they be better in four or eight years? Without a doubt. But that's not to say they're not good enough now. If they weren't, I wouldn't play them, and I wouldn't have him in the squad.
"But I think it's quite clear that in time, when they mature as footballers, get the experience of playing in big games, it's natural that you will get better as a footballer.
"I had that in [my] generation; I experienced that. We had an eight-to-ten-year cycle, we lost against Uruguay, and were really bullied in the second leg. That same group played four years later and didn't get bullied. That's maturity. We weren't poor players four years earlier; we were very good players, we were a great group and four years later, we're much better.
"These boys will be good now, without a doubt, and I'm very, very happy they're here. I'm very confident in playing them and having them involved, and it's a pleasure to coach them."
Indeed, such was the belief that Popovic wished to express in his young squad, he reiterated that expectations should remain high for his squad regardless of its demographics.
"It would be easy for me to say that you know we're looking to the future with a lot of these players -- to water down expectation," he said. "I don't want to do that. I think we should keep the expectation high.
"Yes, a lot of the decisions that have been made since we qualified automatically has been to look for players with potential, but they've all earned it. The players aren't just picked because they're young. They could be good in four or eight years but these boys are chosen now in the 26 to play now. None of these boys are here just to sit on the side and not be involved. I want them all to give me a headache every week.
"And I believe in these young boys and I think they should believe in themselves more. I know that will come with time, but they should feel assured and confident that they have a coach that believes in them and that's why they're selected.
"They're not selected for future World Cups, they're selected for this one, and, and I think that showed last night [against Mexico] in how we selected the team, and I'm sure it will show throughout the World Cup."