2 hours ago
2
Tony Popovic could see it more or less straight away, almost as soon as Lucas Herrington started training with the Socceroos for the first time.
On Friday night, everyone else could see it too.
There weren’t a stack of positives to take from Australia’s scrappy 1-0 win over Cameroon, but the emergence of this 18-year-old whiz-kid as a genuine World Cup bolter was the biggest of the lot.
Herrington made his professional debut in December 2024 with the A-League’s Brisbane Roar - and before he’d even done that, his coach at the time, Ruben Zadkovich, was prepared to talk him up as the best defender in Australian football, and the one with the highest ceiling.
It was a big call, and those around him, including some of his Socceroos teammates, would prefer to keep a lid on the hype, but that’s going to be difficult now.
Having transferred from the Roar to Colorado Rapids in January for a club record fee, he’s taken Major League Soccer in the United States by storm, keeping former Arsenal defender Rob Holding on the bench due to the level of his performances.
If he keeps going the way he is, he won’t be there for too long.
Even those in Australian soccer circles who are not prone to hyperbole when it comes to young talents are saying with confidence that Herrington has what it takes to be a key player for the Socceroos for the next decade, and beyond.
Handed a start by Popovic against an undermanned Cameroon, Herrington became the youngest defender to debut for the Socceroos since Brett Woods in 1981 - and he looked anything but a first-time international.
His only error was slipping over late in the first half on a bit of patchy turf near the corner flag at Accor Stadium. Other than that, he looked assured in possession, confident in the tackle, smart with his positioning, and made a major contribution towards a precious clean sheet.
What more could Popovic want?
“I’ve been very impressed,” Popovic said.
“I wanted to see what he was like in this environment. When I saw him train, I thought, ‘Yes, he’s 18’ - so you can find an excuse not to play him if you want.
“We had quite a hard session on Wednesday ... he just looked like he’d been around for a couple of camps. Some boys, you can see ... it’s like they’re overthinking every moment: ‘I made a mistake, I’m with the national team. It’s not good.’ This kid just gets on with it.
“I thought maybe give him some minutes in the second game, but after the training on Wednesday, I was convinced that he can start.”
Herrington’s maturity was evident even in the mixed zone after the match, in the way he spoke about an achievement that would have spun out most other players his age.
“I’m just trying to take everything in my stride,” he said.
“It’s not long ago that I made my debut for the Roar and everything’s sort of risen quickly since then. I’ve enjoyed the journey.
“There’s a lot more to go. I’ve got a lot of people in my circle that have just told me to keep my head down and stay humble, have that humility, and I think that’s so important, just to keep doing my thing on the field. But I also remember that I’ve been lucky enough to get these opportunities, and everyone would like to be in my position.”
Alessandro Circati, another relatively young Socceroos defender, said he told Herrington pre-match to play his usual game because that’s what had brought him there.
“It’s only been one game,” Circati said. “But from what I saw, I think he’s very calm. He’s fine under pressure and he’s willing and happily using both feet, which is very, very important. Being confident with both feet in this day and age is essential.”
Nestory Irankunda, his former roommate in the Australian under-16s team, has been watching Herrington’s club form closely.
“It’s just a super proud moment for him, and also for the country, because there’s not many young centre-backs that come through and dominate the way he dominated today,” he said. “To have a clean sheet at the age of 18, starting debut in front of a home crowd - it’s not easy.”
Though the Socceroos are well-stocked for central defenders, Herrington is a realistic shout of making Popovic’s 26-man World Cup squad, but there is still a lot to play out between now and June - including another match on Tuesday night against Curacao, the team’s last on home soil before the World Cup, to round out the FIFA Series.
Fans looking for a complete performance against Cameroon didn’t get what they wanted, but they did get to see a win, which should boost confidence after three defeats in a row at the end of last year.
Popovic is still tinkering with different players in different positions, and hoping to unearth rare gems like Herrington - or Jacob Italiano, the right wing-back who only debuted in October but was brilliant again on Friday night, and appears to be a lock for the World Cup.
Popovic assured any unnerved Socceroos supporters that there was a strategy behind what he was doing with the team, and that what might look ugly now could coalesce into something beautiful, very soon.
“You always want to win, and there’s no greater feeling than that,” he said.
“But when you can do both - when you can debut players and try players in different positions and still get the win - you’re getting the best of both worlds.
“I think it’s already coming together.”
