Roberto Lopes savours week to remember after reaching World Cup with Cape Verde

Cape Verde’s Dublin-born Roberto Lopes described the “surreal” feeling of reaching the World Cup as he headed home to Ireland to become a father for the first time.

Shamrock Rovers defender Lopes helped Cape Verde – an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean off Africa’s west coast, with a population of just under 525,000 – became the second-smallest nation to reach the World Cup after beating Eswatini 3-0 at home on Monday.

It was the start of an extraordinary week for Lopes, known as Pico, who wasted no time in setting off back on the 4,500-kilometre trip to Dublin with wife Leah about to give birth to their first child.

Lopes said: “I can’t really put it into words at the moment. It’s such a surreal feeling.

“The overwhelming relief at the end of the game, the realisation that we did it, we’re going to go to the World Cup.

“I know some people would say a boy from Crumlin playing in the League of Ireland his whole career, playing international football when he was 28, playing at a World Cup – I’m 33 now, I’ll be 34 during it – it’s been incredible.

“I’m probably the luckiest person in the world. Overjoyed.”

Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and did not attempt to reach the World Cup until the 2002 tournament hosted by Japan and South Korea.

Finishing top of its group ahead of Cameroon, one of Africa’s traditional powerhouses, means only Iceland – who competed at the 2018 World Cup in Russia – are the only country with a smaller population to qualify for football’s global festival.

But Lopes – who qualifies through his father Carlos, who left the island of Sao Nicolau at the age of 16 – almost missed the opportunity to play for Cape Verde after ignoring an approach because he does not speak Portuguese.

Both Carlos and his father-in-law Martin had made the long journey to watch Cape Verde make football history.

“I had ignored a message for nine months,” said Lopes, who was recruited via a message on LinkedIn from former manager Rui Aguas.

“Thankfully, they wrote back in English and I did what I should have done the first time, translated the first message.

“I apologised profusely and thankfully they did look past it and they waited for me, and now I’m part of history.

“I hope my dad is very proud. He’s the reason why I’m playing for the Cape Verde national team, and to represent him and my family at this level, and now on the biggest stage in football, is just amazing.”

Shamrock Rovers hope to clinch the League of Ireland title on Friday, but Lopes has more pressing family matters.

He said: “The funny thing about this week is that football has been the last thing on my mind, and I really mean that.

“Me and my wife are expecting our first child. It could be any time now.

“I’m really looking forward just to getting home and hopefully being there for the birth of our child.”