Trinidad and Tobago Vs Sweden - World Cup Special

Depite being reduced to 10-men shortly after the break when Avery John was sent off for a reckless challenge on Wilhelmsen the Caribbeans thoroughly deserved their result and will be ready for the challenge of England in their next group B game.

Intense pressure from Sweden was the main theme of the game however despite the fire power of Ljungberg, Larsson and Ibrahimovic the Swedes registered very few shots on goal and the chances which they had were saved in one way or another by the excellent Shaka Hislop who at 37 become the oldest player in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

For much of the game the side playing in red and white backed by a tremendous amount of fans played with their backs against the wall but defended heroically with each member of the team building together to help Trinidad gain a deserved result.

The game started in an open manor with both sides going out there to attack. A free kick in the first couple of minutes gave Larsson a chance but he screwed his shot wide, the former Celtic man also had a chance with a header but was off target in his bid to get Sweden a goal. Ibrahimovic possessed a threat for Sweden but was left to do most of his work out wide. When a chance fell to him, he was pressurized by several red shirts and was not able to hit the target.

Most of Trinidads attacking was done on the counter and they were able to effectively break under Sweden pressure on several occasions. These forays forward led to nothing but Stern John came closest as did Chris Burchall with a long range effort just floating wide of the post.

The Swedes continued to mount the pressure and several chances went begging when play by Anders Svensson led to Larsson missing the ball by a whisker in the middle of the box.

In the second half the tempo was much the same before John was dismissed for a second bookable offence and Trinidads job become even harder. Hislop then became the first time qualifiers hero with saves from Zlatan, Allback and Jonson who were all faced with the West Ham stopped at close range but could not find a way past him.

As time wound down the Swedes tossed several high balls into the box but even in the 90^th minute the Trinidadians did not relent. As the final whistle blew Trinidads bench, players and fans all celebrated like they had won the cup itself. Their elation showed exactly what their first Would Cup point means, while Sweden were left to ponder a win in their next game of an early exit from the World biggest football tournament.