Popovic's future in doubt after Asian Cup postponement

Next year's AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia has been officially postponed.

The tournament was set to take place from January 7 to February 5, but has now been pushed back nearly 12 months, with it set to begin on December 23 and finish on January 21, 2028.

The decision to postpone was made due to 'exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions', as the situation in the Middle East remains unstable.

Australian football legend Mark Bosnich wasn't surprised whatsoever by the move given what's currently occurring in the region.

"It's not a surprise at all, I think it was inevitable," Bosnich said on SEN Breakfast.

"I started thinking that all the way back when the trouble first started in February.

"I think it was inevitable, so let's just hope that next year that everything is all over and the Asian Cup is able to proceed."

For the Socceroos, one interesting wrinkle to the news is the future of manager Tony Popovic.

Popovic had an agreement in place with Football Federation Australia to manage the side until the end of the Asian Cup, when a decision would then be made on his future.

While it's believed the FFA would like to extend Popovic until the tournament begins, Bosnich isn't sure whether that will simply be the case.

"I don't think it's going to be as simple as that," Bosnich said.

"One is from Tony Popovic's side, he might get a job offer or he may have a job lined up because of that.

"He may have thought, 'We will go to the end of the Asian Cup and then move on'. So I don't think it'll be straightforward.

"But from the Federation's point of view, I think it should be, they should turn around and automatically extend.

"He deserves the opportunity to take the team that he's nurtered throughout the World Cup qualifiers and the World Cup to the Asian Cup to see how they go.

"I can completely understand what the FFA wanted to do, to have a look at what would happen at the Asian Cup.

"But from Tony Popovic's point of view and his management team's point of view, they might turn around and say, 'Listen, if you're going to extend, we don't want a one-year extension, we want a two or three-year'.

"That could create a bit of friction... there are interesting times ahead."

Australia has been drawn in Group D and will face Tajikistan, Iraq and Singapore once the tournament finally begins.