COMMERCE CITY — The nerves were gone by the time Lucas Herrington made the long, lonely walk to the penalty spot in Arlington, Texas.

After Egypt legend Mohamed Salah calmly converted his penalty kick, Australia’s hopes of advancing to the World Cup’s Round of 16 largely hinged on the Rapids’ 18-year-old center back. It was, undoubtedly, the biggest moment of his young career, but he knew having his name called was a possibility after converting his penalties in Australia’s training sessions leading up to the knockout stage.

“I was confident. I was ready,” Herrington told the Denver Gazette on Thursday afternoon at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. “Obviously, I had been scoring in training. I had scored one here for the Rapids, so I knew where I wanted to go. I knew the routine I was going to do.”

The routine went deep breath, exhale, deep breath, exhale before an all-business run-up to the ball. Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir guessed right, diving to his left. Herrington’s shot continued to rise and clanked off the crossbar.

“Leading up to it, I didn’t do much wrong. It was just unfortunate,” Herrington said.

“It was a great moment to be given that responsibility in that role in such an important game and such an important time for the nation. … Obviously, it’s a tough moment, but it’s something I’ll learn from and just be grateful for having the experience.”

Australia’s World Cup run ended after Hossam Abdelmaguid converted the next kick. It’s an ugly part of the beautiful game. That’s something Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scorer of more than 400 goals in Europe’s top leagues, understands.

“Penalties is like lottery. You score, you become a hero. You don’t score, sadly, you become a zero, but I just want to reach out to Herrington,” Ibrahimovic said on the FOX broadcast. “You’re 18 years old. You’re young. This is just the beginning of your career. You stepping up there, you show a lot of courage. Not everybody would do that. My friend, you are the best; don’t listen to the rest.”

A year ago, an opportunity to play on the game’s biggest stage, let alone receive a phone call from Ibrahimovic, seemed like a long shot. Herrington made his senior debut with the Socceroos in March, playing in friendlies against Cameroon and Curacao. That’s when the dream started to feel like a reality, but he knew he needed to return to the Rapids and build on his strong start to his first season in Major League Soccer. He did just that and earned an invite to Australia’s camp in the weeks leading up to the tournament.

“There was a bit of tension between everyone because everyone wants to make the squad,” Herrington said.

Relief was delivered at the end of May when Herrington was included on the 26-man roster. His tournament started on the sideline. He was an unused substitute in a 2-0 win over Turkey and a 2-0 loss to the United States, but he was in the starting lineup when Australia faced Paraguay with a spot in the knockout stage on the line. That’s when the nerves showed up.

“I thought I was prepared until we started singing the national anthem. Then, I got nervous,” Herrington admitted. “But it was all excitement — excited nerves and just really realizing how big of a stage I was on and how big of an opportunity it was for me just to go out there and represent my country at the World Cup. I don’t think it really hit until I was on that pitch against Paraguay, singing the national anthem. It was just a great moment.”

The kid from Brisbane played all 90 minutes of a scoreless draw against the Paraguayans. That was enough to finish second in the group. Herrington was back in the lineup against Egypt and played all 120 minutes of the 1-1 draw. There’s little question he would have been in the 11 had Australia advanced to face Lionel Messi and Argentina.

“He forced his way into the team and then became a mainstay,” Rapids coach Matt Wells said after his club’s 1-0 win over San Diego on Wednesday.

“There’s no way they were ever going to take him out, no matter how far they went, because his performance levels were so good.”

Wells hasn’t had to worry about taking Herrington out. The young defender played every minute of Colorado’s MLS schedule prior to the World Cup. He scored his first MLS goal against Portland in the Rapids’ second match of the season, recorded an assist against Messi’s Inter Miami squad before the World Cup and converted a penalty kick that helped the Rapids beat Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. He was recently named one of 10 defenders to make the MLS All-Star team.

The quick rise has Herrington on the radar of some of the world’s largest clubs. A move to Europe, and a big payday for the Rapids, is a matter of when, not if. When that happens, he’ll be armed with an experience few 18-year-olds have, even if it’s a tough memory in the moment.

“It may not feel like it, but it’s an unbelievable moment for your career. You’re training your body and your mind to be a big player in the big moment. When you play in the Champions League in the future, which he definitely will, you’ve already trained your body to step up in the big moments,” Wells said. “Your career is going to be faced with so many opportunities to step up. If you don’t take a penalty, you train yourself to be the guy that hides in the corner. If you put yourself forward, whether you score or not to me is irrelevant. Of course, he wanted to score. I wanted him to score, but it’s mainly about what he’s training himself to become. He’s an unbelievable young man, and he’s so mature.”

Australia coach Tony Popovich faced criticism for including a teenage defender in his first five penalty takers, but Herrington didn’t redirect any blame. Penalties were converted at a below-70% clip this World Cup. Even Messi missed a couple.

“I’ll never forget it. I’ll never forget that moment. Obviously, it’s probably the biggest moment of my career so far,” Herrington said.

“I’ve seen a lot of players miss them. Even after we got knocked out, I was obviously still following the World Cup and a few big players missed and their countries got knocked out. So, I know it’s part of the game, but it is a tough moment.”

Tough moments have a way of making tougher players. At 18, Herrington will have plenty more moments to turn one narrow miss into a footnote of a long story now that nerves are a thing of the past.

“He’s brave enough and courageous enough to put himself forward, which is a measure of the man,” Wells said. “It didn’t surprise me one bit that he did that.”