Defender Roberto Lopes, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, and has played club soccer professionally in the country since 2010, was recruited by Cape Verde’s soccer team through LinkedIn. Lopes, 33, was eligible to represent Cape Verde due to his father being from the country.

Lopes played one game for the Republic of Ireland under-19 team but never registered an official international cap. Then, in 2018, Cape Verde’s head coach Rui Aguas sent Lopes a direct message on LinkedIn asking for his interest, but since it was written in Portuguese, a language Lopes didn’t speak, it was ignored, believing it was spam.

International Debut

Nine months later, Aguas followed up in English, ultimately leading to Lopes’ international debut in 2019. It came in a 2-0 friendly win vs. Togo. Lopes is now a hero for his father’s country, one he’ll feel even more connected to following the historic World Cup moment.

The Blue Sharks will play Uruguay and Saudi Arabia next in Group H in their attempt for a shock knockout-stage qualification. LinkedIn has proven time and time again that lessons can be found in anything — this time within its own platform.

Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.