VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Possibly Australia’s world cup The journey is over and Tony Popovich can reflect on his achievements with the Socceroos.
But for now, the United States is waiting.
Popovich is back at the World Cup as Australia’s head coach, 20 years after playing for the Socceroos in soccer’s premier tournament.
Australia said this in their Group D opener. Defeat Turkey 2-0 on Saturday Vancouver, British Columbia at night. Turkey, returning to the World Cup for the first time in 24 years, was widely considered to be the stronger team going into the match.
“I think as a coach, you’re proud of your group, you’re proud of your staff, you’re proud that you were able to make a lot of people happy in the stands. You don’t really reflect on what it did for you, but I think that’s normal as a coach, because you’re already thinking, “Is anyone hurt?” Popovich said. “We need to recover well and we need to get the players to focus on the next task quickly. So personally, of course I’m proud, but maybe sometime in the future I’ll be able to look back on this, reflect on it and remember it. It will probably be a very special moment for me and my family.”
The Socceroos, who are training during the World Cup in Oakland, California, will travel to Seattle to face the United States on Friday. They defeated Paraguay 4-1 in their first match. Aiming for the top spot in the group rankings.
Popovich was a defender for the Socceroos and was nicknamed “The Enforcer”. A detail-oriented man, he is known for his focus not only on the field, but also on nutrition, training and recovery, and he brought those traits to his team as a coach.
During his playing days, he played 58 games for the national team and scored 8 goals. Shortly after the 2006 World Cup, when Australia lost to eventual champions Italy in the round of 16, he announced his retirement. He scored a goal in his final appearance for the team that year, a friendly match against Paraguay.
On the club side, he was best known for his long stint at Crystal Palace in the English Premier League.
After his playing career, he served as an assistant in Australia’s top-tier club Sydney before becoming the first head coach of Western Sydney Wanderers. He led the Wanderers to the Asian Champions League title in 2014, becoming the first Australian club to win the continental tournament. Most recently, he coached Melbourne Victory until taking over the Socceroos in September 2024. When Graham Arnold resigned After two bad results.
“He challenges me a lot, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch, as a professional and as a person,” Australian goalkeeper Paul Izzo said during training camp earlier this month. “In that regard, I’m very grateful. He’s a coach that I deal with very well. He can seem very intense at times, but that’s just how I like it.”
Football Australia granted Popovic a contract extension ahead of his first game as manager at the World Cup.
Popovic made a bold move in his starting XI against Turkey and responded by starting 22-year-old Patrick Veach, who has scored more goals than Matthew Ryan, who has played 104 times for Australia. They also left veteran midfielder Jackson Irvine on the bench and placed 10 players making their World Cup debut in the starting lineup.
Coach Popovic said afterward that the win was great for the confidence of the young footballers, while acknowledging that they still have a way to go to reach their full potential.
“Yes, of course they should be boosted,” he said. “The ceiling? They’re far from it, because they’re a young group with no World Cup experience and very limited national team playing experience. So their ceiling should come within four or eight years, most of them, in fact. So we know we need it, but we’re happy with this result.”
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
