Since then, the 18-year-old has made his World Cup debut and been linked with a move to Barcelona.<\/p>\n
When asked about that on Sunday in Oakland, Metcalfe looked surprised and added: \u201cyeah, they\u2019ll probably be kicking themselves!\u201d<\/p>\n
Not that the speculation has, or will, impact the unflappable defender.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty wild, to be honest,\u201d Metcalfe said, speaking of his teammate. \u201cNothing really fazes him. He never looks nervous.<\/p>\n
FEATURE: Why nothing fazes Lucas Herrington, the 18-year-old Aussie World Cup defender linked with Barcelona<\/a><\/p>\n RUMOURS: Herrington to Barcelona?<\/a><\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n DEBUT: Socceroos stars react to their \u2018Rolls Royce\u2019 18-year-old as Irankunda dishes transfer advice to his \u2018little brother\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not nervous when he has the ball or something like that; sometimes if a young player is playing, I think sometimes a lot of the other boys can be nervous, they\u2019re going to make a rash decision, but he never (does). He\u2019s calm on the ball. I think the boys he\u2019s playing next to really help him on the field and also help him develop his game.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s dealing with all the hype and all the press really well. He\u2019s very level headed, He\u2019s a very nice guy and I think that will help him a lot in his next stage.\u201d<\/p>\n Herrington really is taking everything in his stride.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve loved it so far,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously the icing on the cake the other day with the debut.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the best moment of my life, so I thoroughly enjoyed that, loved every minute and, looking forward to what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/p>\n No matter which way he was asked about his composure, or coolness, or confidence, Herrington found a way to try and politely explain how he is handling the hype.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously I knew how important that game was, not just for us but for the whole country,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cSo 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\u2019d dreamed of that moment since I was a kid and I just really wanted to embrace it, enjoy it.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that it\u2019s not going to come around every day. So I really tried to stay in the moment and just stay calm and hopefully I did that.\u201d<\/p>\n Does he EVER feel anxious or stressed?<\/p>\n \u201cI just love playing football, so to me it was just a game of football with a lot of meaning, a lot of passion and I just tried to show that and put my best foot forward.<\/p>\n \u201cI love playing for the country and that was probably my favourite game I\u2019ve ever played, so I just really enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n It is impossible to ignore the transfer talk.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m at the World Cup, so I\u2019m just trying to stay present,\u201d Herrington answered when asked about the Barcelona links.<\/p>\n \u201cReally enjoy this moment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my first one, hopefully first of many; it doesn\u2019t come around very often, it comes around every four years. So I\u2019m really just trying to enjoy every moment here.<\/p>\n \u201cWork hard and we\u2019ll see what comes after it but I\u2019m just fully focused on the World Cup and the team at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cBoth me and my agent are fully focused on the World Cup and I\u2019m just here to do a job for the country and that\u2019s all I\u2019m focused on at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Since leaving the A-League, which he only played in for 12 months, Herrington has built quite the CV.<\/p>\n He\u2019s played against Lionel Messi, Thomas Muller, Son Heung-Min and before playing in front of capacity crowds at the World Cup had faced crowds of 76,000 and 80,000 for Colorado against Inter Miami as well as at the Rose Bowl against Mexico.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has happened quick,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI definitely wasn\u2019t picturing this when I left Australia six months ago.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously in every kid\u2019s mind you want it to happen this quickly and you want it to happen like this, but it is a hard thing to do and I\u2019m just grateful to be given the opportunity to be here and just represent the country that I\u2019ve loved living in, love being from and I\u2019ve been supporting the Socceroos at World Cups for the past couple World Cups, so it\u2019s really special to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n On playing in the States, he explained: \u201cIt helps a lot. Just like anything if you practise something a lot, it\u2019s going to become more natural and you\u2019re going to be less nervous.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think playing in front of seventy five thousand back in Denver and playing at the Rose Bowl in front of eighty thousand helps a lot\u2026 I\u2019ve been there before so it\u2019s just just another game to work hard, do my thing, and just enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n The scale of Herrington\u2019s rise has been summed up by the pre-season A-League video of Ruben Zadkvovich hailing him as the best defender in the country before he\u2019d even kicked a ball.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_7224-1024x768.webp\")
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