Trevor Sinclair, one of England's heroes in the win over Argentina which was ignited their World Cup hopes, is certainly making the most of the chance provided by his late call-up to the squad.

"I feel fortunate to be out here and to be actually taking part and having an affect on a game like that is like a dream come true," said Sinclair at England's training camp in Awaji Isalnd (click here to see the full interview on video).

"It was the greatest night of my career without a doubt.

"I still can't put into words how much it means to me to be playing for my country, let alone in the finals of the World Cup against one of the tournament favourites."

Looking back at his late inclusion in the squad, Sinclair said: "I was the 25th man in effect and when the manager named his final 23 it did cross my mind that I might not be going to the World Cup.

"But then Steven Gerrard pulled out and then when the same happened to Danny Murphy, I had people on the phone like Ian Wright saying 'it's fate, you are supposed to be here.'"

Sinclair's story is an amazing one - he only made his England debut last November and had only played in friendly internationals until Friday's game, when he replaced the injured Owen Hargreaves after just 18 minutes.

"The Argentinian game was so special," he said, "and I finally feel like I've made a contribution to the squad. It was my first competitive game for England and my first in the World Cup.

"When the manager asked me to go on, I felt really excited and I just couldn't wait to get onto the pitch and get my teeth into the game. At the end it was like a blur although seeing the fans celebrating was an amazing feeling.

"I feel now like I'm part of the squad. I feel like I deserve to be there as well and I hope I've put forward a case to start the next game but that's up to the manager."

Sinclair was still clearly on cloud nine after the match at the Sapporo Dome when he boarded the Argentinian team coach by mistake.

"I was rushing around. I was one chosen to do the normal drugs test after the game and I came straight out of the stadium and got onto the Argentinian coach! There weren't too many smiles and I got off quickly."