Frank Farina knows the pressure as Socceroos prepare for Paraguay

As the Socceroos prepare to take on Paraguay and secure a place in the knock-out rounds of the FIFA World Cup, all eyes will be on coach Tony Popovic, whose bold selection calls have so far yielded mixed results and reviews.

Few know the pressure involved in those calls better than former Socceroos coach Frank Farina, who led the national team for 58 games in the early 2000s.

"I sat in that chair for six years, so I've heard it all before … everybody's an expert," he said.

"[As coach] you're around the players all the time, you're seeing stuff and you make calls based on whatever information you've got from training and games."

He noted that, to some observers, Popovic was "a hero in the first and a zero in the second game" at this World Cup and "that goes with the job".

But Farina, who coached Popovic in the national set-up, has backed his former charge, praising his tactical nous and brand of football.

"The way Popa's setting up, it's a counter-attacking team, which is a wonderful way to play," Farina said.

"I think he's doing a great job [and] I think he'll make the right decisions."

Farina, a former striker who scored 10 goals in 37 senior appearances for his country, hopes to see the Socceroos' attacking weapons unleashed against Paraguay, even if a nil-all draw is enough to seal second place in Group D and a more favourable opponent in the round of 32.

"If you're [counter-attacking] you've got to have some outlets with pace and guys holding up the ball," he said.

"[Nestory] Irankunda is one of those great outlets, [Cristian] Volpato we only saw briefly against the USA; I'd be looking at those players.

"But I'm nowhere near the squad, so I have no idea which way they'll go."

No golden generation, yet

Farina was at the helm as the Socceroos' "golden generation", including Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill and John Aloisi, were making their mark on the world stage.

He says the current squad isn't at that level, but the signs are promising.

"When I coached the national team, all the players were playing regular first-team football in top European leagues. That's the major difference to what our squad is now," Farina said.

"But this squad is competitive. We've got some good and growing players [and] a lot of them are young guys coming through and just starting their international careers.

"They just need time and we'll see how they progress."

Different times

Farina never made it to a World Cup but came agonisingly close both as a player and coach.

The 61-year-old tasted defeat in a World Cup qualification playoff against Uruguay in 2001 and was replaced as head coach in 2005 by Guus Hiddink, who led Australia to the World Cup in Germany the following year.

The high mark of Farina's coaching career arguably came at the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001, when the Socceroos defeated then-world and European champion France 1-0 en route to the semi-finals.

Farina's side finished third after beating Brazil, who went on to win the following year's World Cup, in a playoff.

His side also defeated England 3-1 in a 2003 friendly but crashed out of the 2005 Confederations Cup with three losses.

Despite the Socceroos becoming a perennial World Cup qualifier since 2006 and boasting resources and attention Farina could only dream of during his tenure, he has no bitterness nor dwells on what could have been.

"I wore the shirt, I coached the shirt, obviously in very different times to what it is now," he said.

"It's an argument you could have forever, but it just was what it was.

"What's happened in the past has helped shape and mould what we now see. Someone has to go through the hard times for others to succeed."

Farina hung up the coach's tracksuit in 2016 after leading the Fiji under-23 team to the Brazil Olympics.

He has no intention to coach again but still deeply loves the game and the national team.

"I'm an unabashed Socceroos supporter," he said.

"I love watching football, I love watching the World Cup and to see the Socceroos there since 2006, it's been fantastic."