Football Australia has this week re-signed Tony Popovic as Socceroos head coach before the Australian national team has kicked a single ball in the 2026 World Cup group stage, putting their faith in the incumbent helmsman through to the 2027 Asian Cup early next year.
Popovic is in Canada with the Socceroos preparing for their opening game of the World Cup against Türkiye on Sunday (Aussie time), before they then face the U.S. and Paraguay in coming weeks.
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This re-signing means the 52-year-old will command Australia both for the biggest competition in world football, and the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia from January 7. The biggest argument for the re-signing is likely stability, though many would have asked to see how the World Cup went first.
No waiting around for the Football Australia chiefs, though, who pushed the deal through this week before Australia’s Group D opener.
“Tony is a world-class coach and he has proven his ability to deliver results while developing talent at the same time,” Football Australia CEO Martin Kugeler said.
The reasoning from the Aussie sporting association was: “While the immediate focus is on the World Cup, this extension provides clarity and enables Football Australia to plan with absolute confidence for the period following the tournament, leading into the Asian Cup. Stability and continuity are vital, especially with our exciting, developing young Socceroos squad.
“This provides a natural progression and an opportunity for Tony and the team to build on the positive momentum generated over the past 21 months.”
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“I’m delighted that I will continue to coach the Socceroos through to the AFC Asian Cup 2027,” Popovic said from Canada. “It has been an honour and a privilege to lead the Socceroos, and it is a role that I thoroughly enjoy and one I have never taken for granted.”
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For now, though, Popovic has one huge focus, and everything has will be going towards that: “My absolute focus right now is on the World Cup. I’m proud to lead my country into a World Cup, but most importantly I want to ensure that our team is fully prepared and focused on our group matches against Türkiye, the United States, and Paraguay.”
Australia play at 2PM on Sunday, in what could be a pivotal group clash. Top two go through, while third has a chance to qualify with wildcards.
The other group opener, U.S. vs Paraguay, happens at 11AM tomorrow morning.
