The Story of Roberto Lopes, the Cape Verde Player Called Up for the 2026 World Cup Thanks to LinkedIn

Kapanlagi.com - Who would have thought that a message on LinkedIn could be the start of a journey to the biggest football stage in the world? That’s what happened to Roberto Lopes, a defender for the Cape Verde national team who almost missed a golden opportunity because he thought the message he received was just spam.

Now, the 33-year-old player has become one of the key pillars for Cape Verde in the 2026 World Cup. His story serves as proof that great opportunities sometimes come from completely unexpected places.

Even more interesting, it all started from a message he almost never read.

1. National Team Offer Comes Through LinkedIn

Chat from the head coach of Cape Verde to Pico on LinkedIn (Credit: instagram.com/pico_lopes)

Lopes revealed that the Cape Verde Football Federation first contacted him via LinkedIn using Portuguese. Since he did not understand the content of the message and assumed it was just a random message, the defender, affectionately known as "Pico," chose to ignore it.

It was not until nine months later that the federation reached out to him again, this time in English.

"Nine months later they contacted me again in English and asked if I had thought about the offer. That’s when I did what I should have done from the start, which was to translate the first message using Google Translate."

After realizing that he was indeed being invited to represent Cape Verde, Lopes immediately accepted the opportunity without hesitation.

"The way they contacted me was quite unique through LinkedIn. Later, I was informed that they had difficulty reaching my club. Once I knew the opportunity was real, I was 100 percent on board from day one and started taking care of all the necessary documents."

2. From the Irish League to the World Stage

Pico Lopes at the 2026 World Cup (Credit: AP)

Born in Ireland and having Cape Verdean blood from his father, Lopes has only played in the Irish League throughout his career with Bohemian FC and Shamrock Rovers.

He admits he never imagined he could compete in a tournament as big as the World Cup. Previously, his international experience was limited to one appearance with the Ireland U-19 national team.

However, since making his debut with Cape Verde in 2019 in a 2-0 victory over Togo, his international career has continued to grow. He has become one of the key players in the defense of a team that is slowly emerging as a new force in African football.

3. Cape Verde Wins Fans' Hearts at the World Cup

Pico Lopes at the 2026 World Cup (Credit: AP)

According to Lopes, Cape Verde's confidence began to grow after they successfully qualified for the Africa Cup and were able to compete with the best countries on the continent.

"When I joined in 2019, I felt we had an amazing group of players. The target at that time was to qualify for the Africa Cup, and we achieved it. We played against the best teams in Africa and our confidence continued to rise."

Cape Verde almost qualified for the 2022 World Cup. After that, they performed impressively by becoming group champions in the 2023 Africa Cup, surpassing Egypt, before their journey was halted in the quarter-finals by South Africa.

Thanks to the new World Cup format that provides more slots for African countries, Cape Verde finally made history by securing a ticket to the 2026 edition.

And even more impressively, Lopes and his teammates in Cape Verde managed to win the hearts of fans worldwide with their very impressive performances. They advanced to the round of 32 as runners-up, despite being in the same group with giants like Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia.

Unfortunately, Cape Verde's journey had to end in the round of 32 after being defeated by the defending champions; Argentina. Nevertheless, they managed to give a tough time to Lionel Messi and his team, losing narrowly with a score of 3-2.

(kpl/gtr)