18 year-old Lucas Herrington is considered the future of the Socceroos’ defence; 33 year-old Jason Geria an elder statesman and a trusted veteran among the Australian group.
Yet they both have one thing in common: the 2026World Cup will be their first, and selection was a dream come true for them and their families.
Their paths to Tony Popovic’s 26-man squad could not have been more different either. Geria has been a near permanent fixture since Popovic took over the Australia role, while Herrington’s three caps have all come since March.
Geria made his Socceroos debut under Ange Postecoglou all the way back in 2016, then waited eight years for another game when Popovic threw him a lifeline and he has not looked back since.
After being on the fringes of the national team for so long and watching World Cups come and go, to make one this late into his career was indescribable for Geria.
“I’m still processing it, to be honest. It’s been two days now and I couldn’t quite believe for a little bit,” Geria told reporters from the team’s Oakland training base.
“Being here, being at base camp, the hotel, processing that I’m part of something I’ve worked at for such a long time, but then I’m a fan of this as well — I watched all these World Cups when I was a kid, and I was dreaming to be a part of one so being here is unbelievable.
“I definitely had a moment, called my family, called my friends, and there were a lot of tears, a lot of emotions.
“It’s not ideal, your first one at 33 but then again, I was away from here for eight years, that’s not ideal either. My story is not exactly the ideal script.
“My rewards in my career have come towards the latter stages, as opposed to being in the middle or the beginning, but that comes from always believing this could be possible, and continuing to work and try and improve and be the best version of myself possible, and then just keeping an open mind that things can happen.”
Herrington’s rapid rise has caught most people off guard, with the gangling centre-back only two years removed from playing NPL for Queensland Roar’s youth team.
But after excelling for Brisbane in the A-League, he moved to Colorado Rapids in January, Popovic handed him a debut in March and then started him against Mexico in front of 78,000 people last week before granting his World Cup wish.
“I’m over the moon, it’s a dream come true. I’m so happy to be here. I can’t wait for an all to get started,” Herrington said.
“Mum was buzzing, I was really happy to share that moment.”
Two years ago, Herrington’s old Brisbane Roar coach (and ex-Glory boss) Ruben Zadkovich labelled him “the best defender in Australian football right now.”
He had not played a first-team game at the time but with the benefit of hindsight, the quotes have aged like a fine Italian wine and Herrington himself said he never felt the pressure of those quotes.
“It was really nice to hear that. As a player, when your coach says something like that, it gives you the confidence and belief in yourself just to go do your thing,” he said.
“To have that before I even played, I’ll always be grateful to Ruben for giving me that opportunity to play and make my debut for the Brisbane Roar.
“He’ll always be one of the coaches I always text or call back and thank for that moment, because probably without it, I wouldn’t be here.”