Since Popovic’s public blast, Arzani has not registered a single goal or assist in seven matches for Victory, and indeed, only started one of them. And he was taken off after 65 minutes.

Popovic was asked if his selection was more based on faith than form – on what he could do, rather than what he has actually done.

“Maybe a bit of both,” he said.

“That one is more … I know his talent. That’s a type of player that we don’t have – between the lines, that creative player that has that natural ability to do something special in those areas. He gets another chance. I’m sure he didn’t expect it. But I think it’s just an indication for every player that none of them are out of the picture. And if they perform well, there’s always a chance.

“So I’m hoping that Daniel will come in, train a lot better than he did in October, and this time that we think about putting him on the field and showing his great talent that I know he has.”

But, has he performed well enough to earn this shot? Better than, say, Nicolas Milanovic of the Western Sydney Wanderers, or Adrian Segecic of Sydney FC – two creatively-minded wingers with vastly superior recent records? Or what about Nestory Irankunda, who Bayern Munich sent on loan to Swiss club Grasshoppers and made such an immediate impression that he was named their player of the month for February?

“I’m happy that they’re playing, and they’re playing well,” Popovic said. “They just need to continue. We’ll keep watching those boys.”

The risk is not only that Arzani could turn up, not meet the required standards and waste this opportunity again. Nobody wants that to happen; Australia has been waiting for his talent to fully blossom for eight years now. The risk is that Popovic is imposing rules for some, and not for others, and the ill feeling that could generate when in-form players see underachieving rivals being rewarded.

There were other eyebrow-raisers. Kusini Yengi was injured in Australia’s last match, November’s 2-2 draw away to Bahrain, and only just returned for Portsmouth, logging a total of 29 minutes in two appearances. Mitch Duke is stuck on the bench for his club in Japan, but has played almost twice as much this year – but loses his spot due to a lack of game time, which is pretty stiff on the 2022 World Cup hero, as Popovic acknowledged.

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“That’s a good point … that’s something you have to juggle as a coach,” he said, before explaining that Yengi and Duke have different profiles and offer different things as strikers. Which is true.

Yet, Mohamed Toure is banging in goals and laying on assists in Denmark, making him arguably Australia’s most in-form striker, but gets picked for an under-23s camp in Doha, not the Socceroos. And Noah Botic, who has spearheaded Western United’s push for an A-League finals berth and is leading the golden boot race, is overlooked for Adam Taggart, an excellent player with runs on the board but not in the same sort of form.

Coaches are there to make decisions, for reasons they can’t or sometimes don’t want to explain to the public or media. They live or die by them. With Popovic in particular, there is always method to what appears to be madness.

In an ideal world for the national team, he will be proven right, the Socceroos will collect six points from their next two qualifiers and remain in the box seat for a direct berth at the 2026 World Cup. Right now, that’s all that matters. Nobody will be complaining if Arzani comes on and scores the winner next Thursday night.

But if they fall short, the what ifs will be asked, and the conversation will be uncomfortable.