Дөнгөж 18 настай Лукас Херрингтон Австралийн шигшээ багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд багтан Дэлхийн аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээнд оролцсон нь түүний карьерын хамгийн онцлох мөч байв. Тэрээр хэсгийн шатны сүүлийн тоглолтод Парагвайн эсрэг гараанд гарч, улмаар Египетийн эсрэг хасагдах шатны тоглолтод оролцсон юм.
Парагвайн эсрэг гарааны бүрэлдэхүүнд дуудагдсан нь түүний хувьд Дэлхийн аваргын жинхэнэ уур амьсгалыг мэдэрсэн анхны мөч байлаа. Тоглолтын эхний 10 минутад Херрингтон бөмбөг таслах болон оновчтой дамжуулалт хийх замаар сандралаа даван туулж, тоглолтын хэмнэлдээ орсон байна. Тэрээр тэмцээний туршид гэр бүл, найз нөхөдтэйгөө холбоотой байж, сэтгэл зүйн дарамтыг даван туулахыг хичээжээ.
Египетийн эсрэг тоглолт торгуулийн цохилтоор шийдэгдэхэд дасгалжуулагч түүнд итгэл хүлээлгэн цохилт гүйцэтгүүлэхээр сонгосон нь залуу тоглогчийн хувьд том сорилт байв. Херрингтон бөмбөгөө хаалганы баруун дээд булан руу чиглүүлсэн ч харамсалтай нь алдаа гаргасан юм. Хэдийгээр баг нь ялагдал хүлээсэн ч энэхүү туршлага нь түүнийг ирээдүйд илүү их амжилт гаргах хүсэл эрмэлзэлтэй болгосон байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here.
At 18, Lucas Herrington was the youngest player on Australia’s World Cup team. He started Australia’s final game of group play against Paraguay and again in the knockout round loss to Egypt. He plays for the Colorado Rapids in MLS.
My first game at the World Cup was against Paraguay.
Standing out on the field, singing the national anthem with all the Australians, you don’t realize how much it hits until then. I felt the nerves coming in. I could hear everyone chanting and singing their hearts out just because it means so much.
I felt the pressure, and that was the moment I realized: I’m at the World Cup. I’m really here.
That was my “welcome to the World Cup” moment.
All the hard work and dedication I had put in led to that moment. It was a dream of mine for as long as I can remember to play at the World Cup for Australia. To still be so young and do that meant everything to me. It meant everything to represent my country.
I had just wanted to make the final squad; I didn’t really think about anything after that. I was just really grateful to be there.
But when I got my name called to start against Paraguay in our final game of group play, it was a chance to prove why I should be there.
It felt different than other games. I could feel the tense atmosphere, the will to win and to make everyone proud back home. I could just see how much it meant to every player on both teams. I could see the expressions on the fans’ faces and how much every action meant to them.
I took a couple of deep breaths before the game started to calm myself, but you sort of just have to find a way to forget about it. Early in the game, I had a couple of interceptions and a couple of good passes. I got myself involved early so I didn’t have to think about the nerves.
Once you hit that 5- or 10-minute mark, you’re back to reality, back to a normal game.
And then, after full time, when it’s all over, you realize again that you’re at the World Cup.
I didn’t sleep that first night. I haven’t probably slept since, to be fair.
Kylian Mbappé story from his former teammate
Elise Devlin
Between games, I tried to take my mind off the whole thing. Obviously I was so excited to be in a World Cup, but it just consumes your mind the whole time.
I called my friends back in Australia, talked to my brother, talked to my parents — anything to take my mind off of it. They didn’t treat me like a World Cup player. They just treated me as the same kid from Brisbane who just loves to play football.
That helped me disconnect a little. That was important for me.
In our knockout game against Egypt, we went to penalty kicks. Going into the game, I knew there was a possibility that I could take one. In training, I was confident. I had scored all of mine, and I had scored one for the Colorado Rapids during the U.S. Open Cup.
I knew I was ready. It just depended on whether the coach trusted me and thought I was the right person to take one.
And he did.
That gave me more confidence.
I obviously knew I had to score if we had any chance to go through to the next round. I knew the pressure that was on me. I could feel the tension in the crowd. As a young player, a lot of people were surprised that I was put up to the task. But I knew I was able to do it, and I was confident.
There wasn’t much going on in my mind as I walked up there. I kept my routine the same as training and in the penalty shootout with the Rapids. I think I did everything right, and it was just one of those days where it came off the foot a little bit wrong and a bit too high. But it was the exact spot I wanted to go; that top right corner was where I was aiming.
Unfortunately, I just missed it.
I’ve felt a lot of gratitude since then for being given that responsibility as the youngest player on the team. It made me feel that I’m doing something right to be put on the line for my country. My parents, my whole family have always taught me to take everything in stride. That’s what I’ve tried to do.
Looking back, it was the best thing for me to experience that at a young age. It makes me want to keep working hard to have more of those big moments in my career.
— As told to Jayson Jenks
