Port Vale v Wrexham
The FA Cup
First Round Proper
04 November 2005, 7.45
Winning clubs receive £16,000





A Friday night FA Cup tie against Wrexham is an unusual way to prepare for the biggest two matches of your career but then 2005 has been anything but normal for Port Vale’s Chris Birchall.

Just a year ago Birchall was struggling to establish himself at Vale Park but this weekend he’ll be flying out to the Caribbean to train with his Trinidad and Tobago team-mates before their World Cup play-off against Bahrain.

It’s been a whirlwind adventure that has left Birchall, the first white player to play for Trinidad in over 60 years, pinching himself.

"If someone had told me I would two matches away from a World Cup this time last year I would have laughed," he says.

So how did a lad from Liverpool playing in League One find himself playing for Leo Beenhakker’s ‘SocaWarriors’?

"My mum was born in Port-in-Spain after my grandparents emigrated to Trinidad in the ‘50s," he said. "And although she moved back to England in 1975 I mentioned it to my agent.

"I didn’t think anything more of it but he must have been busy because someone from Trinidad and Tobago came over for the Barnsley match last season.

"We won the game 5-0, I probably had my best match of the season and the next thing I knew I was flying out for a training camp before a World Cup qualifier against Panama."

It was a daunting experience for Birchall but any nerves he may have had soon disappeared.

"Everyone in the team has been great, they immediately made me feel at home," he said. "I’ve been accepted so quickly, mainly because Trinidad is a real cultural melting pot."

The process has been made easier by Birchall’s energetic displays in the centre of midfield and despite playing out of position he’s relishing the experience.

"It’s been just unbelievable playing alongside the likes of Dwight Yorke and Stern John and working under a manager like Beenhakker is just incredible. The manager just knows so much about the game and tactically he’s spot-on."

Trinidad and Tobago went into their final match against Mexico needing a win or a defeat for Guatemala to progress to the play-offs, and a 2-1 victory over the already qualified Mexicans sparked a party in Port-of-Spain that’s yet to stop.

"It was just fantastic," Birchall.recalled. "We were mobbed at the ground, on the street and even at the hotel."

However, Birchall knows that it could all mean nothing if they don’t make it to Germany.

"We’ve only done half the job and the next two matches are going to be huge," he said.

A spokesman for the Trinidad and Tobago FA claimed qualification "would do wonders" for the country and it’s something that Birchall is determined to be a part of.

"To play in the World Cup would just be the ultimate," he said. Before Bahrain, however, comes Wrexham.