Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Lucas Herrington can reel off the names of the superstar attackers he’s marshalled like he’s reciting his times tables.
Lionel Messi, Thomas Muller and Son Heung-min are just some of the talents the teenage centre-back has faced in front of big crowds with Colorado Rapids in the MLS this year.
So the prospect of going one-on-one with Egypt star Mohamed Salah – if fit after his hamstring strain – and his partner-in-crime Omar Marmoush at the World Cup doesn’t faze Herrington, 18, one bit.
Neither does attracting interest from Barcelona – something that happened before he had even kicked a ball at the World Cup.
“I’m just trying to stay present and really enjoy this moment,” Herrington, now the youngest ever Socceroos World Cup starter, said.
“It’s my first World Cup, hopefully first of many, but it doesn’t come around very often.
“It comes around every four years, so I’m really just trying to enjoy every moment here, just put my best foot forward, and just work hard and we’ll see what comes after it.”
Brisbane Roar sold their sell-on clause for Herrington to the Rapids for $560,000, according to Nine Newspapers – a decision that appears set to cost the A-Leagues club millions.
“They’ll probably be kicking themselves,” teammate Connor Metcalfe said.
Herrington’s unfazed response to life-changing transfer interest reflects the on-field calmness and composure that has his senior teammates in awe.
“Nothing really fazes him, he never looks nervous. I’m not nervous when he has the ball,” Metcalfe said.
“Sometimes if a young player is playing, a lot of the other boys can be nervous they’re going to make a rash decision. But he’s calm on the ball.”
Herrington, who laughs when asked if anything makes him nervous, says of his calmness: “It’s not something that I sort of work on. I think it might just come naturally.”
The 18-year-old has been totally unflappable, including on his dream debut against Paraguay last week, when he shone in a high-stakes encounter he described as “the best moment of my life”.
“I knew how important that game was, not just for us but for the whole country,” Herrington said.
“So obviously I knew the pressure that was in that game and I knew there was pressure on all of us.
“So I was looking forward to it. Obviously I’d dreamed of that moment since I was a kid and I just really wanted to embrace it, enjoy it.”
Herrington still pinches himself that he’s here – something he couldn’t have foreseen even six months ago.
And if Salah is fit for the round-of-32 clash in Arlington, Texas on Friday (4am Saturday AEST), Herrington hopes that test is coming his way.
“It’s nice to verse players like that. Really, that’s where you want to be, that’s who you want to verse,” Herrington said.
“So to be given that opportunity, hopefully, it’ll be special, and I can’t wait.”
