Australia Advances to Last 32 as Lucas Herrington Shines
The scoreline will be forgotten. The night might not.
Australia’s 0-0 draw with Paraguay in Santa Clara on Thursday was as dry as World Cup group finales come, but it did the job. The Socceroos are through to the last 32 as runners-up in Group D, and for Tony Popovic, that was all that mattered.
They arrived in California with their fate still in their own hands, having shocked Turkey in their opener before being pegged back by co-hosts the United States. One point would be enough. One point is exactly what they took.
No chaos. No drama. Just control.
A stalemate with purpose
This was a game played with a calculator always in the back pocket. Australia pressed when they had to, managed the tempo when they didn’t, and made sure Paraguay never dragged them into a shootout of nerves.
Popovic, speaking after the match, cut a satisfied but steely figure. His young side had done the hard, often thankless work of tournament football: manage risk, stay organised, take no unnecessary chances when everything is on the line.
He talked about dominance, about composure, about a “crucial World Cup qualifier with a very young squad in the third match when everything's on the line.” On a night when the spectacle underwhelmed, the numbers on the table did not.
Australia advance. Paraguay advance. The stalemate suited them both.
Dallas awaits – and so does Group G’s runner-up
The reward is a trip to the air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys on July 3, where the Socceroos will face the side that finishes second in Group G.
That group is still in flux, with Egypt, Iran, Belgium and regional rivals New Zealand jostling for position. There are no easy options in that quartet. There are, however, opportunities for a side that has already shown it can bloody a heavyweight’s nose.
Popovic knows the value of time now. A week’s break at a World Cup can feel like a luxury. For a squad built around youthful legs and emerging careers, it could be decisive.
“We're delighted to have this break,” he said, outlining a plan to have every fit player ready “to produce a big performance that might give us a chance to progress even further.”
The message was clear: this is not a group happy just to have survived the first cut.
Herrington announces himself
If the match lacked edge, one storyline cut through the fog: Lucas Herrington.
At 18, the central defender became Australia’s youngest starter at a men’s World Cup and played like he had been there for years. Popovic, a former Crystal Palace defender who knows exactly what top-level defending looks like, did not hide his admiration.
“He is a special talent,” the coach said, explaining that Herrington was never in the squad just “to make up the numbers.” On the biggest night of the group stage, with qualification at stake, Popovic turned to the teenager who plies his trade in Major League Soccer and trusted him to anchor the back line.
Herrington has already been linked with a move to Barcelona, and performances like this will not quiet that noise. He read the game sharply, stepped into challenges with conviction, and carried himself with the kind of authority that belies his age.
Popovic revealed the youngster had been “frustrated he didn't get minutes against the US,” and admitted he loved that edge. Players who want the ball, want the stage, tend to grow quickly at tournaments like this.
“Today he was outstanding,” the coach concluded. Few in Santa Clara would argue.
Young, resilient, and still standing
Popovic rolled the dice with a youthful XI, and they paid him back with a gritty, disciplined display in northern California. This was not the free-flowing, fearless football that lit up their win over Turkey, but it was another kind of maturity test.
They passed it.
Australia now step into the knockout rounds with a blend of exuberance and resilience, a coach who believes they can “do something special,” and a teenage centre-back already playing beyond his years.
The next stop is Dallas. The question is no longer whether they belong here. It’s how far this young side can push the ceiling before someone finally stops them.
