Remembering Chris Birchall: Port Vale’s Unexpected World Cup Hero
The eyes of the planet are currently on Qatar, with the 2022 FIFA World Cup well underway. And thus far, there have been shocks aplenty.
In the last week alone, South Korea bagged a last-gasp winner against Portugal to send the Taegeuk Warriors into the last 16 at the expense of two-time winners Uruguay. Japan stunned the world by beating Spain, a week after defeating Germany. The two victories saw the Blue Samurais top a difficult-looking Group E ahead of Las Rojas, with Die Mannschaft sent packing at the group stages for the second consecutive tournament.
Just days prior, the world’s number two-ranked nation, Belgium, were also eliminated. A 2-0 defeat in their second group game against lowly Morocco meant that they had to beat 2018 finalists Croatia to stand any chance of progressing. The Red Devils could only manage a goalless draw, however, with striker Romelu Lukaku missing no less than four guilt-edged opportunities to break the deadlock.
This winter, unsurprisingly there isn’t any Port Vale representation on football’s grandest stage. But that wasn’t always the case. 16 years ago, the Vale had a World Cup star of their own.
2006 FIFA World Cup
Germany was the location for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, with amphitheatres of the modern game such as Bayern Munich’s brand-new Allianz Arena, Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion and the Berlin Olympiastadion all hosting fixtures. And who should Birchall be drawn to face at the tournament? Only the country of his birth, England.
The Three Lions were in the midst of a golden generation that had thus far disappointed. But with players such as Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham in their ranks, only bookmakers such as Bovada, who are providing soccer betting odds on the current World Cup, had made Sven Goran Eriksson’s side one of the favourites for glory.
But first up, Trinidad had to take on an equally impressive Sweden side. The Blågult’s starting eleven boasted the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrik Larsson however, the Scandinavians couldn’t break down a dogged Soca Warriors defence, and the game ended goalless.
Next up was England. And the Trinidadians were once again dogged at the back, keeping the wealth of English talent at bay for the vast majority of the proceedings. That was until the 83rd minute, however, when giant striker Peter Crouch broke the deadlock. Liverpool captain Gerrard would then thump home in injury time to give England a somewhat flattering 2-0 victory.
In their final group game against Paraguay, they knew they needed a minor miracle to go through. They needed to somehow beat the South Americans while simultaneously hoping that England beat Sweden. It wasn’t to be, however.
Paraguay comfortably beat the Soca Warriors by a score of two goals to nil, while Sweden picked up the point, they needed to progress to the last 16. The show was finally over.
Chris Birchall – Soca Warrior
Right midfielder Chris Birchall was enjoying a stellar campaign throughout the 2004/05 season. This term was his breakthrough season, featuring 34 times as the Vale avoided relegation by just five points. He continued in the same vein the following season.
It was a little-known fact to many at the time that Birchall’s mother was born in Port of Spain, the capital of the tiny Caribbean archipelago Trinidad & Tobago. One man who did know, however, was then Wrexham defender Dennis Lawrence. The towering center-back was a regular starter for the ‘Soca Warriors’ and during a meeting between the Red Dragons and Port Vale, enquired as to Birchall’s availability by saying “I hear you’ve got some ‘Trini’ blood in you” mid-game.
And it wasn’t just Lawrence who was aware of the secret. Former England cricketer Ashley Giles was also aware somehow, and he passed the information on to the West Indies’ greatest-ever batsman Brian Lara.
Shortly after those interactions, Birchall was called up to the Trinidad and Tobago squad. He made his debut in a friendly against Bermuda before featuring in a World Cup qualification double-header against Panama and Mexico. He would then score his first goal for his adopted nation in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Honduras.
But it was in World Cup qualifying that the Trinidadians were truly impressive. The right winger played every minute of their final five qualification games, and they went into their final one against Central American giants Mexico knowing that they needed a victory to keep ahold of any remaining hopes of progression. And a victory is exactly what they got courtesy of Stern John’s last-minute winner, which secured a 2-1 victory over El Tri and saw the Soca Warriors qualify for the inter-continental playoff.
They would meet Bahrain in the two-legged tie, and it was here where Birchall secured his legacy as a legend of Trinidadian football. With the Arab Gulf nation looking set to take a 1-0 lead back to Bahrain, the Port Vale man thundered home a 30-yard screamer to secure a draw. Then in the away leg, Dennis Lawrence – the man who brought Birchall into the international fold – would nod home, sending Trinidad & Tobago to their first-ever World Cup finals.