HOUSTON, TEXAS - JUNE 26: Pico Lopes #4 of Cabo Verde celebrates with an Irish flag after the 0-0 draw during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia at Houston Stadium on June 26, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Michael Steele/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by MICHAEL STEELE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Doha, Qatar: A World Cup opportunity did not arrive through scouts or stadiums for Roberto Lopes, but through LinkedIn, which at first he ignored.
The Irish-born central defender assumed the message, written in Portuguese, was spam and didn’t take long before moving on, leaving it sitting unanswered in his inbox.
It was only when a follow-up message arrived in English that it finally grabbed his attention. What he had dismissed was, in fact, a genuine offer from the Cape Verdean football association: a chance to play international football through his Cape Verdean heritage.
That opportunity would eventually lead him to the 2026 World Cup, where Cape Verde provided one of the most magnificent underdog stories in recent memory after their commendable group stage performances and their heroic fight against holders Argentina in the Round of 32 that saw the tiny island nation exit the championship with a head held high.
According to Reuters, Lopes said that the team took nine months to message him back in English, asking if he had thought of the proposal.
“It was only then that I did what I should have done originally and Google-translated the original message asking if I would be interested in declaring for Cape Verde," a laughing Lopes told Reuters in a telephone interview prior to the tournament.
"It was a weird angle to come at (via LinkedIn); it was explained to me afterwards that they had difficulty contacting my club, but when I saw the opportunity was there in front of me, I was 100% behind it from the minute one, and we got working on getting all the necessary documentation across."
Born in Ireland and known throughout the League of Ireland as “Pico”, Lopes had built his entire career domestically. A solitary Ireland U19 appearance had once seemed like the peak of his international prospects.
After making his Cape Verde debut in a 2-0 win over Togo in 2019, he quickly established himself as a defensive mainstay.
He became a key figure in a side that was steadily improving, with the arrival of more dual-nationality players helping transform Cape Verde into a serious force in African football, and after the 2026 World Cup, in world football as well.
