Brazil beat Australia 4-2 in a men’s international friendly at Lang Park in Brisbane, but for one member of the Socceroos squad the night carried a significance beyond the scoreline. Lucas Herrington played for Australia on home soil for the first time, doing so in front of friends and family in his home state.
The centre-back’s rise has been swift. He was playing for Brisbane Roar barely 10 months ago; he is now starting for Hull City in the Premier League and, at 19, already turning out for the senior national team. The friendly against Brazil gave him the chance to perform in the city where he grew up.
“It’s so special; you can see the support around the stadium. It’s awesome for the first time playing for the Socceroos in Brisbane,” Herrington said. “It means everything. I would see them growing up in Brisbane, I know how big the football community is here. It’s been so nice to come home and see the reception we’ve got. All I’ve ever wanted is to play for the Socceroos, so to do that so early and with such great people, is amazing.”
Herrington also read the fixture itself as a marker of the Australian team’s progress. “You want to play these types of games and I think it’s a credit to Australia and the Socceroos and the fans that Brazil wants to come here and play us,” he said. “It was a great game, we really put them under pressure. It shows how far we’ve come. Since I’ve been a Socceroos fan, this is the biggest reception and the most excitement that’s been around the team.”
The atmosphere at Lang Park bore that out. The ground was close to a sell-out, and Irankunda drew the biggest roar from the crowd when the two line-ups were read out before kick-off. The emphasis beforehand had been on the team being sharper in front of goal than in its previous outing, and on learning more about the young players with plenty of quality in the squad.
For Herrington, one item remained on the schedule before he headed back to Europe the following day: finding time for some of his mum’s cooking.