18 Year Old Socceroo Has No Qualms Defending Against Salah After A Decade Doing It On PS4

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18 year old Lucas Herrington is set to take on one of the best strikers in the world, after years of doing it virtually.

After a stellar performance against Paraguay, defender Lucas Herrington says visualising a similar result against Mo Salah's Egypt isn't actually very difficult.

"I've done it in Ultimate Team a hundred times, bring it on" the 18 year old said at a post-game press conference.

Somehow being born after the Socceroos 2006 "golden generation" World Cup, Herrington admitted there's something surreal about lining up against players he spent most of primary school trying to stop in FIFA 16.

"I've been defending Salah since I was about 8" he explained.

"Back then I was controlling Sergio Ramos from my bedroom"

"Now I'm doing it myself lol."

Friends still remember begging his mum for FIFA coins so he could pack Salah, before immediately using him in the next match and discovering just how impossible he was to defend.

Football Australia staff say the teenager occasionally catches himself referring to opposition players by their old FIFA ratings, insisting Salah is still about a 90 overall despite coaches repeatedly reminding him real football doesn't work like that.

Herrington says the biggest adjustment has simply been accepting that, unlike on the PS4, there's no option to switch his wifi modem off and blame the lag if he does lose.