Roberto Lopes, a part-time soccer player for years while working in a bank, says a LinkedIn message from Cape Verde’s head coach helped him take a path to the national team—and into the squad that held Spain to a historic 0-0 draw. The result came as Cape Verd
When Cape Verde walked onto the pitch against Spain, most expectations were already written for them. The day after Germany thrashed Curaçao 7-1, the narrative was simple: Spain would pile on goals, and Cape Verde would have little to show for it.
Roberto Lopes, a center back wearing Cape Verde colors, was thinking about something else—defending, blocking, clearing. The final score stayed at 0-0, and Cape Verde’s disciplined, relentless defense became the upset nobody saw coming. Spanish star Pedri came up against Lopes in duels that never seemed to break the rhythm of the visitors’ back line.
Lopes’s own football story reads like a detour that turned into a doorway. The 33-year-old defender. also known as Pico. was born in a Dublin suburb to an Irish mother and a father from Cape Verde. an Atlantic island nation off the west coast of Africa. He spent the last 16 years playing in Ireland’s top division. but he made only one international appearance for Ireland at the Under-19 level in 2011.
For some years, Lopes says he played soccer part-time while working in a bank. In that stretch, senior international football—and certainly a World Cup—seemed out of reach. Then Cape Verde’s head coach reached out to him on LinkedIn.
Lopes told RTÉ that he ignored the first message for nine months because it was in Portuguese, a language he says he didn’t understand at the time. He said the coach messaged him again, this time in English. When he understood what the opportunity was, he said he “jumped at it.”
His first game for Cape Verde came in 2019.
Cape Verde itself is an archipelago of 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa. With a population of around 530. 000—roughly the same size as Kansas City—it is the third-smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup. Against Spain, Lopes helped keep that size from feeling like a disadvantage. He played a vital role in securing Cape Verde’s point as the reigning European champions pushed forward again and again.
On the day, Lopes blocked three shots and cleared the ball away 11 times. Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper, Vozinha, was named man of the match and then surged in visibility, gaining over 7 million Instagram followers after the game.
Lopes also described how returning to his roots is tied to what happened after that LinkedIn message. Growing up. he said he was aware of his Cape Verdean heritage through his father. but he also said he “probably neglected for a long time” when it came to learning the language or knowing much about the country. Through football and joining the national team. he said it gave him “the opportunity to look back and reflect and learn loads about my heritage and the culture. ” something he still enjoys.
The remarkable part for many fans will be the scoreline: Spain held to a 0-0 draw in Cape Verde’s opening game. a historic result that came after Germany’s emphatic 7-1 win over Curaçao. For Lopes. the hinge of the story is harder to ignore: a message on LinkedIn. ignored once. answered when the language changed—followed by years of playing his way into a squad now writing its name into football’s biggest stage.
LinkedIn Roberto Lopes Pico Cape Verde Spain World Cup bank job soccer Vozinha Pedri RTÉ international debut