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Shaka Hislop has missed out on World Cup celebrations in his native Trinidad and Tobago to play in goal for West Ham United against Tottenham Hotspur today.


Hislop was part of the T&T squad that secured a memorable playoff victory over Bahrain last week to book their place at the World Cup finals for the first time.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning has already declared a public holiday to celebrate reaching Germany 2006 and the players were treated as royalty on their return.

They are only the fourth Caribbean country to qualify for the World Cup after Cuba in 1938, Haiti in 1974 and Jamaica in 1998.

Even though West Ham boss Alan Pardew gave his blessing for Hislop to be part of the celebrations, the former Newcastle United goalkeeper wanted to be with his family in England and will keep his place for the London derby at White Hart Lane.

Hislop said: "My bags are still in Trinidad and I was supposed to be going there. I wanted my family to be a part of the celebrations but could not get them on a flight in time.

"We had to stop over in Madrid and that is when I found out they could not make it. That is when I came back to England to be with them.

"I was given a blessing by Alan Pardew that I could return to Trinidad to be part of the celebrations and I'm sure the rest of the players are having a really good time.

"But, personally, I felt my family had played such a big part in me realising this dream and I wanted them to be part of it, so I made the hard decision to come off the plane in Madrid.

"I flew back into England on Thursday night and I felt it was the right thing to come straight back into training the next day even though no-one expected to see me.

"I spoke to Alan Pardew from Bahrain and it was very nice of him to let me go back to Trinidad. I think he was as surprised as anyone to see me back at the club."

Hislop, 36, was determined to prolong his international career and achieve his goal of playing at next year's World Cup.

The experienced keeper will make it a week to remember if he manages to keep out former West Ham teammates midfielder Michael Carrick and striker Jermain Defoe at Spurs today.

Hislop added: "This is probably the best week of my career. I have been very fortunate during my club career and have played for some fantastic clubs.

"But I was determined to persevere...with the national side in the hope of playing at a World Cup.

"Nothing comes bigger to a player than what he accomplishes with the national team. Coming from a country as small as Trinidad, it means a lot to the entire region."

With a population of about 1.1 million, they will be one of the smallest nations taking part in the sport's showpiece event.

"I am hearing about how good the celebrations are in other islands of the region and it is testament to how close we are as a region."

Hislop returns to face a Spurs side who are just two points ahead of West Ham, after both clubs have enjoyed fine starts to the season, and United also have a game in hand.

A victory today would take West Ham above Tottenham and up to sixth place in the Premier League standings.

"My boots are still in Trinidad and I need to get a new pair before the Tottenham game," he said. "I am a size 13 so not many people will carry that.

"But this is a such big game for me to come back to. I know the history of these two clubs and I know what it means to the supporters.

"There is extra spice to the game because there are so many players with links to both clubs. I have no doubts Jermain is one of the best strikers in the game and to get one over Tottenham would be well received at Upton Park."