Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago Fight to Draw

Soca Warriors Prove They Belong: Sweden 0, Trinidad and Tobago 0

DORTMUND, Germany, June 10 -- It was just their first game on soccer's biggest stage and it had ended in a 0-0 tie, but the players from Trinidad and Tobago celebrated as if they had just won the World Cup.

And in many respects, their scoreless draw against Sweden -- a dangerous attacking side, a country playing in its 11th World Cup -- on a warm Saturday evening was a victory. The Soca Warriors -- who were without their first-string goalkeeper, who were forced to play the final 44 minutes with just 10 men, who were the smallest of all the minnows in the 32-team field -- proved that they belonged.

When the final whistle sounded, Trinidad and Tobago players swarmed goalkeeper Shaka Hislop, the 1992 Howard University graduate who made several terrific point-blank saves and was the player most responsible for the result. Coach Leo Beenhakker, the Dutchman who steered the nation of 1.1 million into the finals for the first time after 40 years of futility, becoming the smallest country ever to qualify, thrust his arms in the air and applauded. And the pockets of red-clad Trinidad and Tobago fans danced and cheered and waved flags as their players circled the field in front of 62,959 inside Signal Iduna Arena.

"It's massive," Trinidad and Tobago captain Dwight Yorke said. "This is a historical moment for our people and our country, and certainly the people who came out to support us. We were the underdogs here, quite rightly so because we are a small nation, but we showed a lot of heart."

Sweden, which was considered one of the favorites to advance to the second round out of Group B, has a trio of dangerous attackers -- forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Juventus) and Henrik Larsson (just finished two seasons at Barcelona) and midfielder Freddie Ljungberg (Arsenal) -- who play for three of the richest and most storied clubs in the world. The Soca Warriors countered with a back line of players from lesser clubs such as San Juan Jabloteh (Cyd Gray), Wrexham (Dennis Lawrence), Gillingham (Brent Sancho) and the New England Revolution (Avery John).

"We are the first guys to recognize that Sweden has more talent and Sweden had more possibilities to win the match," said Beenhakker, whose team needed to win a two-game playoff with Bahrain to make it to Germany. "In that way, we have our eyes wide open. Don't blame us that they didn't score a goal."

Instead, blame the 37-year old Hislop, who faced 18 shots (six on goal). Hislop, who helped lead Howard to the NCAA finals in 1988 where it lost to Indiana, was named the starter earlier in the day after Kelvin Jack reinjured his calf muscle. Hislop, who earned his 26th cap, wasn't fazed by the last-minute change, nor by an arena that seemed to be filled with people in yellow Swedish jerseys.

"Shaka was absolutely magnificent," Yorke, 34, said. "People who don't know Shaka -- I've had the pleasure of playing alongside of him for 18 years -- this guy is a phenomenal goalkeeper. He probably doesn't get the credit he deserves, but he showed the world what a great goalkeeper he has been."

The Soca Warriors played conservatively for the much of the game, using a lone striker (Stern John) and pushing Yorke, an attack-minded player who is considered to be the best-ever from the Caribbean, into a supporting role behind the midfield. Beenhakker let Yorke push up and drop back when he wanted, because the coach felt that the most important thing was keeping possession of the ball.

But after Avery John, who played for American University, was ejected in the 46th minute after picking up his second yellow card (both were for late challenges on Christian Wilhelmsson), Beenhakker decided against bringing in another defender. Instead he inserted forward Cornell Glen (Los Angeles Galaxy) to play alongside Stern John. Still, it was obvious that the Soca Warriors were content to go for the scoreless tie, as they slowed play and Hislop took his time on goal kicks (drawing derisive whistles from the Swedish fans).

Trinidad and Tobago challenged Sweden's fill-in goalkeeper Rami Shaaban only rarely (two shots on goal). Shaaban was starting only because starter Andreas Isaksson was injured in an accident in training on Wednesday -- he was knocked unconscious by a point-blank shot from teammate Kim Kallstrom. Glen had the Soca Warriors' best scoring chance, a well-struck shot from the right side that hit the cross bar in the 59th minute.

Sweden, meantime, attacked relentlessly, using quick counter-attacks or sending dangerous crosses in from the wings. In the final 30 minutes, Hislop came up with saves at close range on shots from Ibrahimovic and Marcus Allback.

Once the game was over, the Trinidad and Tobago fans lingered in the stadium, as if they didn't want the feeling to end. Once outside, they chanted, "England next!" -- their team faces the English on Thursday in Nuremberg.

"In football, anything is possible," Beenhakker said. "There is no guarantee for the next match versus England. I know that. But we have seen once again that in football, two and two is almost never four. It's most of the time three or five."