Twenty months ago, Brisbane Roar coach Ruben Zadkovich called Lucas Herrington the best defender in Australian football. Nobody agreed with him. The kid was 16. Now he's 18, playing MLS for Colorado, and standing on the edge of becoming the youngest Australian to ever start a World Cup match.
Zadkovich wasn't wrong. He was just early.
Herrington only debuted for the Socceroos in March, yet he's started all three of his appearances under Tony Popovic. That's not a coach easing a teenager in gently — that's a coach who's seen enough to trust him. And in international football, that trust is everything.
Circati's influence shouldn't be underestimated
The detail that stands out from Herrington's own words isn't the standard gratitude to his coach or his country. It's what Alessandro Circati told him: don't worry about mistakes. That's specific, useful advice — the kind that actually changes how a defender plays. Circati is 22 and already a fixture in Popovic's back line. For Herrington to have that kind of voice in his ear at training, rather than just watching from the outside, tells you something about how quickly he's been absorbed into the group's inner circle.
Mark Schwarzer — more Socceroos caps than anyone in history — called him "relaxed" and said he looks like he's been around a long time. From Schwarzer, that's not a throwaway compliment. He's watched every Australian defender of the past three decades from close range.
What this means for Australia's World Cup setup
The Socceroos open Group D against Turkiye in Vancouver on June 14, with a warm-up against Switzerland in San Diego coming first. Herrington's form at Colorado since joining in January has been the thing that forced Popovic's hand — you don't pick an 18-year-old for a World Cup squad on potential alone, not at this level.
Australia's defensive depth and structure will be under genuine scrutiny in Group D. Herrington starting — if it happens — shifts the calculus around the Socceroos' backline odds. A teenager with three senior caps anchoring your defense in a World Cup opener is either a masterstroke or a gamble. Popovic seems to have decided it's the former.
"I've worked my whole life for an opportunity like this," Herrington said. "It came sooner than I thought." It came sooner than anyone thought. But here he is.
