In his first appearance in front of the media since the last-32 defeat to Egypt the coach, whose tactics elicited some criticism, insists he would not have done anything different

More than two months have passed since Australia’s painful penalty shootout defeat against Egypt ended a World Cup adventure that had begun so brightly. Although the Socceroos upset Turkey and progressed to the knockout stage with the youngest team in the tournament, coach Tony Popovic wore criticism for his selections, especially in that shootout in Dallas.

Sitting in front of a bank of microphones in Sydney on Tuesday in his first media appearance since the World Cup, the coach is finally ready to talk. “There’s always been a purpose behind every decision I’ve made. And I’m comfortable with that purpose for all of them.