Roberto “Pico” Lopes was working at a bank in Dublin and playing football part-time when a message on LinkedIn offered him an unexpected route into international football.
The defender, who was born in Ireland to an Irish mother and a Cape Verdean father, had never expected a professional networking platform to provide the opportunity that would change his career. But in 2018, Cape Verde coach Rui Aguas was looking for players with connections to the country and came across Lopes online.
The first message, written in Portuguese, went unanswered. Lopes assumed it was probably spam and did not realise that it had come from people connected with the Cape Verde national team.
Several months later, a second message arrived, this time in English. Lopes then understood that the approach was genuine and that Cape Verde wanted him to play international football.
He accepted the invitation, completed the required paperwork and began representing the country of his father. What had been an ordinary part-time football journey was suddenly transformed into an international career.
From part-time football to the World Cup
Years after that unexpected exchange on LinkedIn, Lopes became part of the Cape Verde squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The tournament marked Cape Verde’s first appearance at the World Cup, giving the defender a place in one of the most significant moments in the country’s football history.
Cape Verde also came close to producing a major upset against Argentina. In a dramatic 3-2 match in the Round of 32, they pushed the reigning world champions to the brink of elimination before ultimately being beaten.
Lopes’ story underlines how footballers can emerge from places far removed from the traditional scouting system. Rather than being identified through a leading academy, a prominent agent or years in a major professional competition, he was found through a platform normally used for employment and business contacts.
His experience also demonstrated the importance of persistence and clear communication. Had the Cape Verde team not followed up in English, the original message might have remained unread and Lopes could have missed the opportunity altogether.
Instead, the second contact opened the door to international football, eventually taking a bank employee and part-time player from Dublin to the biggest stage in the sport.
For Cape Verde, Lopes’ path to the national team reflects the wider search for eligible players around the world. The country’s links with its diaspora allowed the coaching staff to identify talent beyond the traditional football networks, while Lopes’ willingness to investigate the second message ensured that a possible career-changing opportunity was not lost.
