Any doubts that national team coach Tony Popovic had that teenage defender Lucas Herrington was ready to make his Socceroos debut were erased at one training session.
Herrington, 18, was superb on Friday night in his maiden appearance for the Socceroos, producing a commanding and composed performance in Australia’s 1-0 FIFA Series win over Cameroon at Accor Stadium.
It was a display that now has the Colorado Rapids centre-back well and truly in the selection mix for this year’s FIFA World Cup.
Popovic revealed post-match that he was originally planning not to use Herrington against Cameroon, and instead “maybe give him some minutes” in the Socceroos’ battle with Curacao on Tuesday night in Melbourne.
However, plans changed after a midweek training session.
“We had quite a hard session on Wednesday for the group, and he just looked like he’d been around for a couple of camps,” Popovic said of he former Brisbane Roar prodigy.
“Some boys you can see that … they’re over-thinking every moment (with) ‘oh I made a mistake, I’m with the national team, it’s not good’.
“This kid just gets on with it, and he looked really comfortable in the environment.
“After training on Wednesday, I was convinced that he could start (on Friday).”
Herrington said it was the “best feeling in the world” to play for the Socceroos.
“I’m just grateful to everyone that gave me the opportunity to do so and have been supporting me since I started playing football,” the youngster said.
“Every kid that lives in Australia wants to represent their country at the World Cup, so I just want to keep performing at club level and keep doing what I can to make that squad.”
Alongside Herrington in defence was 22-year-old star Alessandro Circati, who has already captained the Socceroos.
“You’ve got ‘Ale’ there next to him (Herrington), so two young players together there, and a sign of the future for the national team at the back,” Popovic said.
Herrington’s selection was the latest in Popovic’s desire to give younger players an opportunity to “surprise”.
“As we have done throughout the campaign, we’ve exposed players that have surprised us that they are ahead of schedule, and I’ll continue doing that on Tuesday (against Curacao), expose some more players,” he said.
“This will hold us in good stead for the World Cup because we are getting injuries. I know everyone has that, (but) we’ve been unfortunate with some longer-term injuries.
“I feel the way we are using these (international) windows by giving players an opportunity, it should help us at the World Cup.”
