'I want to reach out' - Zlatan Ibrahimovic sends out of character message to heartbroken World Cup teenager

Often outspoken and brazen football icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic has broken character to send out his support for one breakout figure in the FIFA World Cup 2026 after facing knockout heartbreak.

The World Cup knockout stage has begun claiming its broken souls, with plucky underdogs facing brutal eliminations.

Just last night, the third-smallest World Cup nation ever, Cape Verde, went toe-to-toe with the holders Argentina, only separated by a bit of Lionel Messi magic as he broke yet another record.

Cape Verde epitomised the magic of the World Cup, an energy that has been harnessed by other unlikely knockout stage countries like DR Congo, South Africa, and Australia.

The latter of those was the latest nation to suffer similar heartbreak as they missed two spot kicks in a shootout against Egypt, with 18-year-old Lucas Herrington hitting the crossbar to send the Socceroos home.

But after the match, the teenager found support in a bizarre place, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic offered his shoulder to cry on in an out-of-character plea on the American World Cup broadcast.

Ibra urges World Cup teenager to 'reach out' after heartbreaking penalty miss

After being inseparable through 120 minutes of football, Leicester centre back and Australia captain Harry Souttar got the penalty shootout off to the worst start as he blazed his kick over the bar.

Egypt's Mo Salah showed guile and composure to score a panenka against Mat Ryan - a goalkeeper who was brought on for the shootout despite not playing a minute of action beforehand - as the African nation looked to join Morocco in progressing to the last 16, where Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Algeria, Cape Verde, South Africa and DR Congo had fallen short.

But it was teenager Lucas Herrington whose penalty proved decisive, as the Colorado Rapids player was left distraught.

In the moments after, Ibrahimovic took to his platform on FOX Sports to send support to the Socceroo, telling him to 'don't listen' to the hate and to reach out to the Swede personally if he needed any help getting over the miss.

"Penalty is like a lottery. You score, you become a hero. You don’t score, sadly, you become zero," Ibra said.

"But I just want to reach out to Herrington. You’re 18 years old, you’re young. This is just the beginning of your career. You stepping up there, you showed a lot of courage. Not everybody would do that.

"My friend, you’re the best. Don’t listen to the rest."

"Harrington, if you want to reach out, I am here."

The young centre-back was told about the comments as he addressed Australian media following the game, and was overwhelmed by his support.

"I’m probably the first one to be knocking myself down and being hard on myself, so to hear that from a legend of the game means a lot,” Harrington said.

“I’ll just keep working hard and hopefully another moment like that comes for me."

The Swedish icon hasn't been as friendly to other nations who have faced penalty exits, as he slammed the now former Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman for his decisions throughout the tournament in one of the most brutal breakdowns of the World Cup yet.

Ibra also had a worrying message for England fans after singling out one 'struggling' player who continues to be a troubling question mark in Thomas Tuchel's plans.