We can do what Northern Ireland did to England
Carlos Edwards
The Guardian (UK)
For a few minutes after our draw against Sweden, we sat in the dressing room laughing, joking and telling stories. Then Dwight Yorke, our captain, spoke up. "Well done, lads, you were brilliant," he told us. "Let's enjoy the moment. But don't forget that we made a lot of mistakes out there, and nearly paid the price."
His words sum up the mood in the Trinidad & Tobago squad right now. Of course we're bubbling and jolly but the job isn't done yet. In my first column for the Guardian, I said the Soca Warriors could reach the second round. Nothing has changed - except perhaps that a few more people believe me now.
Of course we're not so hard on ourselves that we didn't take plenty of positives out of the Sweden game. Beforehand, we thought we could compete with the big boys - now we know we can. The spirit we showed when down to 10 men was unbelievable. And the way so many of the crowd cheered our every kick and tackle was also unbelievable - even the Swedish fans applauded us at the end.
To be honest, I was as surprised as anyone when our coach Leo Beenhakker stuck on an extra striker after we had Avery John sent off. It's not something we had practised in training. But Beenhakker is a smart man; you don't win three successive league titles with Real Madrid without being a quality coach.
He also switched me from right midfield to right-back in the second half, which curbed my attacking instincts. I was itching to get forward but the good of the team comes first. In truth, I'm really not fussy where I play - I'd take the gloves off Shaka if I was told to. Looking back, I think I gave a good account of myself on Saturday, although there was one hairy moment near the end when I nearly let in Henrik Larsson. Luckily my pace saved me.
Next we play England in Nuremberg tomorrow and none of us can wait. If we were to beat them, Trinidad & Tobago would be closed down for month - it would be a non-stop party. But we're not getting ahead of ourselves; that would be fatal to our World Cup chances.
I didn't see much of England's opener against Paraguay, although I heard they struggled a bit. Everyone knows what their big names are capable of but if they think it's going to be a stroll in the park against us they should watch the video of how we defended with 10 men again. We didn't roll over for Sweden and we won't for England.
If the Soca Warriors were facing a team of super-beings I'd be worried, but we're not. It's 11 against 11 and, as I keep reminding people, often when you get on to the pitch it's about who wants it more. And we want it bad - especially as we know that a result tomorrow and a win against Paraguay in our last game will almost certainly put us into the last 16.
Our coach hasn't yet detailed his plans for England but he's spent hours analysing videos and working out the best formula to contain them. Injury-wise, there are a few niggles, but nothing serious. Marvin Andrews looks like missing out, though. He was hoping to be fit but it will be up to the medical people to decide.
As the kick-off gets nearer, the butterflies will increase. I always get them before a game but I'm not going to be any more nervous facing England than I would be playing Preston or Crewe. Once I get my first touch on the ball, and play my first pass, I'll be fine.
Can we win? I don't see why not. Northern Ireland beat them, after all. If we play with the right attitude and do exactly what we did in our first game - without getting a man sent off, obviously - we can certainly get a result. Make no mistake: the guys are up for it. We're ready to kick some behinds.
