Houghton backs Pico Lopes as Cape Verde dream grows

Ray Houghton says Cape Verde’s World Cup moment—holding Spain to a draw last Monday—feels even bigger than Ireland’s Italia ’90 achievement, and he’s been thinking about what that night in Atlanta means for Roberto “Pico” Lopes. The former Ireland hero drew di

When Cape Verde held Spain to a draw on Monday in Atlanta, it wasn’t just another match moment for the Blue Sharks—it landed like a statement to a world that expected them to be overwhelmed.

Ray Houghton, one of Ireland’s heroes from Italia ’90, believes the significance runs deeper than the scoreboard suggests. Speaking to the Irish Mail on Sunday. the former Liverpool and Aston Villa midfielder said Cape Verde’s qualification and point against Spain is “an even bigger thing [than Italia ’90] in many respects.”.

Houghton leaned on the reality of where both stories began. Ireland progressed to the knockout stages of the first World Cup the country ever played in 1990 with three draws. at a time when three teams could advance from a group of four. After the ‘94 World Cup, the format shifted so only two teams got through. Now, with this expanded tournament, Houghton believes Cape Verde could do something similar at their first World Cup.

He also framed the achievement through contrast. Houghton pointed out that Ireland’s 1990 squad was made up of players from top British clubs such as Manchester United. Liverpool and Celtic. Cape Verde’s squad. he said. mainly features players from clubs many casual fans won’t have heard of—while also including the first ever active League Of Ireland player to feature in a World Cup: Shamrock Rovers captain Roberto “Pico” Lopes.

Houghton described the Ireland-via-World Cup path that Lopes is now taking. “That was an extraordinary achievement to get that nil-all draw,” he said. “Absolutely brilliant.”

There was a familiar kind of anticipation in the way he talked about it, too. “You’re always looking for one of the new boys that make the World Cup to do something. We did it in 1990 and – who knows? – maybe Cape Verde could do it.”

Houghton then drew the comparison to Italia ’90 in the emotional sense—the first-tournament nerves, the fear of embarrassment, the pressure of being new on the biggest stage.

He said the similarities are the same problem every debutant faces: “it’s your first World Cup, you come in and you’re really looking forward to it. There’s a bit of trepidation, because you’re a little bit worried – you don’t want to embarrass yourself.”

His detail was specific: Houghton said he could imagine the mindset going into Spain. including the worry that a debut nation could get hammered. “I’m sure when they were going up against Spain. they were thinking. “Oh God. don’t let us lose this by five or six like Curaçao did the day before against Germany.””.

It was after the Spain match—played in Atlanta on Monday, June 15—that Houghton spoke with the Dubliner Lopes. Their conversation, he said, helped turn a huge night into something even more personal.

Lopes, a centre-back with a Cape Verde-born father, has since told media outlets that the Ireland legend helped him put the accomplishment “in perspective.” Houghton explained what he told him directly.

“As someone who’s been there and whose career is well and truly over with,” Houghton said, “the only thing left is memories, and you’ve got to really enjoy every moment.”

He acknowledged how easy the idea sounds and how hard it is when you’re still living the matches. “It’s easy to say, it’s harder to do, because you’re obviously caught up in the matches. But just try and take in everything that you can. because when you finish your career and you look back and you reflect. they’ll be special times.”.

Houghton said Lopes responded with a story of exactly that kind of memory-making. The defender told him he had been looking in the stands to see his mum and dad, and that his wife had come to watch by camper van with the kid. In Houghton’s telling, it was a “really great story.”

He also gave Lopes the kind of character verdict that comes from meeting someone after a shared moment rather than reading about them. Houghton called the 34-year-old defender “a super lad.”

“You can tell straight away,” he said. “He’s so down to earth, so humble, just delighted that he’s got his opportunity to play at a major tournament, and there representing Cape Verde.”

Houghton added that Lopes has quietly made Ireland part of the same storyline, too. “He’s put Ireland on the map as well. He’s got the thickest Dublin accent. I’d not really spoken to him or heard too much about him. but just speaking to him for 10 minutes after the game just reassured me of the individual that he is. that he is a top-class lad.”.

For Houghton, there was another jolt of perspective in the details of Lopes’s age and timing. He said he was “laughing to myself” at the fact that Lopes wasn’t even born when Houghton played in his first World Cup.

That sense of time running forwards and backwards—passing dreams between generations—was part of what made the Ireland-Cape Verde comparison feel more than rhetorical. Houghton said the age gap “sort of drove it home to me,” but insisted Lopes still had the same ambition. “He had the same dreams and aspirations that I had going into it. You want to go there and do yourself proud. do your country proud. do your family proud. and he certainly did that.”.

Houghton said he shares another similarity with Lopes through heritage. He is Scottish-born, and described an affinity with Buncrana in County Donegal, where his father was born before his grandmother moved the family to Glasgow for work.

Houghton said he has regularly visited since and still feels connected to it. “I still feel[s] I’ve got a part of Buncrana in me,” he said.

If the football side of Monday’s draw was a triumph, the personal side has been equally loud—especially in Cape Verde, where Lopes’s relatives have spoken openly about pride, family memory, and what it means to see him carry their colours.

Roberto “Pico” Lopes’s family in Cape Verde told Radiotelevisão Caboverdiana. the country’s national TV network. about their “enormous happiness” and pride after he lined out for the Blue Sharks against Spain. Some relatives were interviewed on screen. including his 98-year-old grandfather. introduced as Ti Ley. before the team secured a famous point against Spain this week.

Ti Ley said it was “a great pleasure” for the whole family to witness Lopes playing at the World Cup and that he has “contributed to the country.”

Lopes’s great-grandfather of his son Diego still farms his land on São Nicolau—one of 10 volcanic islands that make up the Atlantic archipelago of around half-a-million people—and the place where Lopes’s father grew up before becoming a seaman.

His uncle, Perpétuo, said the “whole family is happy,” explaining that Lopes was born and raised in Ireland. Perpétuo told the interviewer he remembers visiting the Lopes family in Ireland when Pico was only little. He added that visiting isn’t easy because of transport constraints and work commitments.

Another relative, Arlindo Gomes, described the achievement as “an enormous happiness – especially when it’s a family event,” calling it a big “source of pride” that the Cape Verde flag is among the 48 nations competing for the World Cup in North America.

He also recalled a personal moment tied to football glory—parading through the town on an open-top carriage after Lopes’s heroics at Euro ’88. Gomes said. “I took my Dad back. ” and that it was the first time they’d been back to Buncrana in a long time. He added. “not long after that. he passed away. ” suggesting how deeply those trips matter when family milestones and sport collide.

Perpétuo also pointed to how the bond among teams can turn into something lasting. If Ireland’s own World Cup adventures are any guide, he said the Cape Verde squad “will be mates forever.”

In that thread. Lopes said he is still in the WhatsApp group with the former Irish players. including the 1990 squad and the ‘94 squad. He described a “truly wonderful bond. ” saying that unlike their era. they didn’t have mobile phones or iPads—only Italian TV that nobody could really understand because it was “all in Italian.”.

Lopes said they had to find each other’s company and speak a lot because there wasn’t much else to do: playing cards. chatting. going to teammates’ rooms when not training. “That’s when you find out about your teammates individually. ” he said. “which I think it’s a good thing.” He added that they’ve been great mates ever since.

Houghton, meanwhile, let the conversation fall back to the people who shaped him. He said he misses his old gaffer Jack Charlton “dearly.” He explained that he interviewed Charlton at his home for RTÉ and that Charlton showed him his World Cup winners medal from 1966.

Houghton said it’s one of his highlights because he had never seen one before. “He was kind enough to bring it down and show me it,” Houghton added, “which was absolutely brilliant.”

Ray Houghton Pico Lopes Roberto Lopes Cape Verde Spain World Cup Italia '90 Ireland Shamrock Rovers David O'Leary Packie Bonner Jack Charlton Buncrana Ti Ley Perpétuo