Port Vale's World Cup hero Chris Birchall is desperate to sign off with promotion before packing his bags for Germany this summer. The 21-year-old, from Stafford, will become the first Vale player to appear in the World Cup finals after Trinidad and Tobago won the second leg of their play-off in Bahrain last night.
Birchall, who has come through the Vale youth set-up, only lasted 20 minutes of the 1-0 win before he was forced off with an ankle injury.
But he had already played a major part in the Caribbean country's qualification, including scoring their goal in the 1-1 draw in the first leg in Trinidad last Saturday.
The injury is likely to rule him out of Vale's game against Swindon on Saturday, but he has set his heart on helping the Valiants reach the play-offs before completing the second part of his dream double by testing himself against the best players in the world next summer.
Birchall said: "We have made it to Germany now and it is a huge relief to know we have that to look forward to.
"My confidence is sky high and I can enjoy my football with Vale and concentrate on helping them get to the play-offs.
"It feels amazing to have got through to the World Cup, but I am going to put it to the back of my mind to concentrate on Vale."
Trinidad overcame the loss of Birchall to claim a deserved victory through Wrexham defender Dennis Lawrence's 50th-minute header.
Birchall said: "I knew we could do it because we were the better side, but had made it difficult by not performing as we could in the first leg.
"But the team came together a lot better and we got the all-important goal.
"I felt their player came in late on me and I was completely gutted to have to go off. I tried running through the pain for five or six minutes, but it wasn't going away and I realised I would be no help to the team."
The Valiants aim to welcome Birchall back with a taste of the Caribbean in Burslem. The club are hoping to recruit a steel band in time for the home match against Swindon, whether or not Birchall plays.
Vale's vice-chairman Dave Smith said: "Everybody at Port Vale is tremendously proud of Chris.
"It is a marvellous achievement to be the first Vale player to play in the World Cup finals. We are going to give him a real Caribbean reception on Saturday and we hope fans will turn up and give him a hero's welcome."
Yesterday's win also offers a World Cup chance to Vale striker Hector Sam, who signed from Wrexham in the summer. The 27-year-old Trinidadian's chances of playing in the qualifiers were dashed by a broken leg, but he is expected to be fit again in January.