© EuroFootball.com
Trinidad and Tobago national team goalkeeper Shaka Hislop joyfully announced on Monday that after a sensational match in which his team played a draw with Sweden in their World Cup debut in Group B, he could die happy.
In the match against Sweden, 37-year-old S. Hislop only entered the starting lineup at the last moment because the main goalkeeper of the team, Kelvin Jack, sustained an injury during warm-up before the match. Nevertheless, it seemed that Trinidad and Tobago benefited from this, as the experienced player representing "West Ham" club led his team's defense superbly and saved the team from conceding several times.
"It was the most impressive day of my career. I think it would have been the same even if I hadn't played, but Saturday's match felt like the missing piece that filled everything," said S. Hislop to "The Times" newspaper. "I know that when I retire, I will be a happy man. Because when everything fell into place like that... well, probably even die happy."
According to the player, on the bus ride back to the training camp, national team captain Dwight Yorke was congratulated by phone by Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister, Patrick Manning. Hislop said he did not know if he would keep his place in the starting lineup in the match against group leaders England, who defeated Paraguay in their first match.
"If we start the meeting against England with a newly found confidence in our abilities, who knows what could happen. It is possible," hoped the Trinidad and Tobago-born, England-raised footballer.
