Cape Verde stunned Spain with a 0-0 draw to open its 2026 World Cup schedule. One of the players who contributed to this success is defender Roberto Lopes, who started and played the entire game at center-back for the Blue Sharks.

Discovery on LinkedIn

Lopes, 33, was born in Dublin, Ireland, and has played club soccer professionally in the country since 2010. He played one game for the Republic of Ireland under-19 team but never registered an official international cap. Then, in 2018, then-Cape Verde head coach Rui Aguas became aware of Lopes’ eligibility to represent the country. 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.

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 was eligible to make the switch due to his father being from Cape Verde. His mother is Irish.

Historic World Cup Moment

Now, Lopes is 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.

Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.