Unflappable Lucas Herrington takes praise and World Cup progress in his stride

Nestory Irankunda and Cristian Volpato might be the Socceroos’ excitement machines, but in the shop window of this World Cup there is one model worth more than all others. Lucas Herrington, who at 18 became the youngest Australian to start a World Cup match when the defender played against Paraguay, has already been linked with a move to Barcelona. Such is his trajectory, his next transfer is expected to fetch a price close to – or more than – the Australian record set by Harry Souttar, who was bought by Leicester for £15m (approximately A$26m) in 2023. So when Souttar likens Herrington to the most expensive of all automotive brands – as he did after the match against Paraguay – it is a significant compliment. “You wouldn’t think that’s his first World Cup game. The guy was absolutely composed, calm,” he said. “You can see the guy’s like a Rolls-Royce.” Herrington’s A-League club Brisbane Roar negotiated a 20% sell-on clause with Colorado when they sold him last year, but before the World Cup the club’s owners decided to cash in, for around A$500,000. The decision is likely to cost the club millions of dollars. The midfielder Connor Metcalfe said simply: “They’ll probably be kicking themselves.” Herrington handles all this talk of transfers, and links to Barcelona, the same way he does a forward bearing down on him when he has the ball. …