Who is Roberto 'Pico' Lopes? Incredible story of Irish Cape Verde international whose bizarre call-up led to World Cup glory

Cape Verde qualified for the 2026 World Cup by topping Group D in CAF qualifying.

The group of Portuguese-speaking islands situated off the western coast of Africa, who only gained independence from Portugal in 1975, pipped Cameroon to top spot in their qualification group to create a small piece of World Cup history during the October 2025 international break.

Cape Verde is home to some 525,000 people, a population roughly 58 times less than Group D rivals Cameroon, making them the second-least populous nation to qualify in Finals history, after Iceland.

Dublin-born skipper 'Pico' Lopes revels in Cape Verde World Cup glory

Turning out for Cape Verde throughout this qualification cycle has been 33-year-old defender Roberto 'Pico' Lopes, whose broad Irish accent is somewhat out of place in CAF competition.

The Shamrock Rovers' skipper was born in the Dublin suburb of Crumlin to an Irish mother and Cape Verdean father, representing the Republic of Ireland as a youth international some 15 years ago.

Despite never having visited Cape Verde and spending the entirety of his club career in the League of Ireland, 'Pico' was named in the Cape Verdean squad for the first time in 2019.

The call-up to the Cape Verde national team came as a surprise to many, but it was the result of a concerted effort by the footballing authorities on the island tracking down and recruiting players of Cape Verdean descent from around the world.

The nature of their approach to Pico, however, was somewhat out of the ordinary.

Initial contact was made by an individual associated with the national team, tasked with reaching out to players of Cape Verdean heritage who may be eligible to represent the country on the international stage. The approach was not made via traditional means or a club-to-country communication channel, though. Instead, Lopes received a message on his personal LinkedIn profile.

Due to the approach being made initially in Portuguese, which Pico did not speak fluently, he disregarded the message as spam, leaving it in his inbox for nine months, or so the story goes.

When the Cape Verdean authorities followed up in English, Pico quickly committed his international future to the land of his father.

Since debuting, Lopes has become a regular for Cape Verde, participating at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and was instrumental in their impressive run to the quarter-finals.

Pico's journey, now widely celebrated, is a success story of a player who, despite never playing in a major European league, has received - and earned - international recognition on the biggest of stages.

"Thank you very much for your support," Pico said in a video message to Shamrock Rovers fans posted on the club's official channels following Cape Verde's qualification. "I'm here now, we did it, we're going to enjoy the celebrations and I'll be back for Pats [St. Patrick's Athletic] on Friday, and hopefully we can do the job then. Come on the Hoops!"

Victory over St. Pat's will hand Shamrock Rovers the 2025 League of Ireland title with three games to spare. The competition, which runs from February to November, is into the final few rounds of fixtures and most likely a point for the Dublin club will be enough to confirm their fifth title in six seasons.