Tony Popovic named as new Socceroos coach as World Cup bid hangs in the balance

Tony Popovic has won the race to become Socceroos manager, and fans won’t have to wait long to hear from the coach about how he plans to fix Australia’s wobbly World Cup qualification campaign.

Graham Arnold made the shock decision to step down as coach last week, falling on his sword following the Socceroos’ recent struggles.

Australia’s World Cup qualification hangs in the balance after they started the latest round of qualifiers with a shock 1-0 home loss to Bahrain and a 0-0 draw away to Indonesia.

The Socceroos need to finish in the top two of their six-team group to guarantee their spot in the 2026 World Cup in North America.

If they finish third or fourth they will face another round of qualifying, with the path to the World Cup becoming more and more perilous.

Popovic, who won 58 caps for Australia as a centre-back, could be unveiled as coach by Football Australia as early as Monday.

It’s expected his contract will run until the end of the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Popovic’s first task will be leading the Socceroos into battle against China in Adelaide on October 10.

A win there is simply a must if Australia wants to stay within striking distance of Group C leaders Japan and second-placed Saudi Arabia.

Japan has a perfect two wins from two matches and boasts a goal difference of plus 12.

Saudi Arabia has snared a win and a draw from their opening two matches.

After taking on winless China, the Socceroos face a tough away trip to Japan five days later.

Popovic has been out of work since leaving Melbourne Victory after their A-League Men grand final loss to the Central Coast Mariners.

The 51-year-old, who worked as an assistant at Crystal Palace earlier in his coaching career and has coached clubs in Turkey and Greece, has been living in Croatia since he opted against renewing his contract with Victory.

Popovic famously guided the Western Sydney Wanderers to the Asian Champions League title in 2014.

He also led Perth Glory to the ALM premiership and helped Victory secure the Australia Cup.

Popovic was in the running for the Socceroos job in 2013 but lost out to Ange Postecoglou, who is now coaching Tottenham in the English Premier League.

Arnold entered the current phase of qualifying confident he had enough talent at his disposal to break down the stoic defences of his Asian rivals.

The Socceroos’ failure to score a single goal against either Bahrain or Indonesia brought about Arnold’s downfall, and Popovic now faces the challenge of turning around his country’s fortunes.