Football Australia wants Popovic decision before Christmas

Garriock, who is also FA's deputy CEO, told this masthead that discussions with Popovic's agent, Frank Trimboli, were already under way even before the postponement of January's Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia threw the federation's coaching plans into disarray. "We've already been speaking, even before this. That's ongoing at the moment," she said.

The Asian Cup will now kick off on December 23, 2027 and run through to January 21, 2028, subject to FIFA approval, a delay of nearly 12 months. Popovic's current contract expires in March and does not automatically extend because of the postponement. FA's immediate preference, Garriock said, is to keep him at least until the end of the rescheduled tournament, even if that means he could be in the dugout in September, when Australia's qualification campaign for the 2030 World Cup begins, without any guarantee he would see it through.

"We need to do what's best for both Football Australia and Tony, and they're the discussions that we're having at the moment. Our first priority is making sure that we both are happy with an extension for the Asian Cup," she said. "We've got people knocking on our door, but we need to give Tony the best opportunity, because he's actually delivered and done the business for Football Australia, he's prepared the players amazingly well, and for us to give him the best opportunity to win a trophy for the Socceroos … it's only fair."

"I think we need to get this put away by Christmas," Garriock said.

The complication with a 12-month extension is that FA could miss out on other coaches becoming available in the coming months, in particular Kevin Muscat, who is coming out of contract with Chinese club Shanghai Port at the end of the year and would be receptive to discussions over the Socceroos job if Popovic did not continue, sources said.

Popovic turned down a four-year extension on the eve of the World Cup in favour of a short-term deal, partly because the two sides could not reach agreement over financial terms, as Garriock revealed last month on the Suited & Booted podcast. She said the governing body was restricted in what it could offer any national team coach. "We're the governing body, and we need to live within our means," she said. "We need to future-proof and make sure our business is sustainable. Unfortunately, we can't pay what a club pays … it's a vastly different role and an expectation to being paid at club level."

The four-year offer was not publicly known until Popovic revealed it unprompted at a press conference in September, when he did not mention remuneration as a factor and said a short-term renewal gave both parties flexibility. He also made clear then that he would be comfortable walking away after the Asian Cup irrespective of results. "I know the legacy that I'll leave behind," he said. "And if it's someone else that takes it forward, that's fine."

Popovic is set to unveil his squad on Friday for this month's friendlies in the Middle East against Qatar and Jordan, which were to be the final warm-up games before the Asian Cup and could yet be his last matches in charge. Some players have expressed discomfort about travelling to the region, according to sources close to the team, because of the deteriorating security situation. Garriock said any player would be excused from the window without future repercussions if they chose not to go for those reasons. "It's normal for both staff and players to be hesitant to want to travel to the Middle East at the moment," she said. "However, we've got the best intelligence on the ground, and we wouldn't put the players or staff at risk."

Other federations face similar dilemmas: Graham Arnold's short-term contract with Iraq was also due to expire after the Asian Cup, while Japan had already announced that Hajime Moriyasu would hand over to Go Oiwa after the tournament.