Swift Superstar Of The Week

The 37-year-old West Ham ‘keeper had conceded three goals to Liverpool in the FA Cup final and was not in the best of form. In fact, he was not the team’s first choice custodian but a calf muscle injury to Kelvin Jack shortly before kick-off gave Hislop a chance to shine on the world's biggest stage. Hislop did more than that, coming up with superb saves to deny Sweden.

He was in the thick of things twice in two minutes as Sweden pressed before the break. He tipped over a fierce drive from Christian Wilhelmsson and then flung himself to his left to parry a half-volley from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. When T&T was reduced to 10 men early in the second half, he denied Ibrahimovic a second time and substitute Markus Allback. T&T drew confidence from Hislop’s show and got a famous draw.

"It has been a boyhood dream come true. I don't know how to put it into words," Hislop said after T&T’s amazing debut. "I got the word just before the game. It worked out quite well actually. Sometimes it's easier that way. It was the proudest day of my career. I think it would have been even if I hadn't played – I was happy with the role I played in the qualifying campaign and I didn't really expect too much more – but this match completed the jigsaw for me.

"I know now I'll be a happy man when I retire. I was just so proud... for things to go as they did, well, I think I'll die a happy man. For us to get a draw against Sweden in our first game in the World Cup finals and for me to make a few decent saves along the way, it felt great. But, to me, even more important than the point we won was the point we proved – not only to ourselves, but to the people of Trinidad & Tobago and I think also to people all over the world."

Connoisseurs and arm-chair fans alike will recall Hislop’s as one of the finest goal-keeping displays on the game’s greatest stage. West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara, a childhood pal of Hislop’s, spoke of the T&T goalkeeper’s inspirational display with much pride. For Neil Shaka Hislop, it was quite simply a boyhood dream come true.