How LinkedIn led Lopes on World Cup adventure with Cape Verde

June 13 : When Roberto Lopes was originally contacted by the Cape Verdean football association on LinkedIn, he did what many people do with unsolicited messages on the professional social media platform - he ignored it, almost costing him the chance to play at the 2026 World Cup. 

The teak-tough, Irish-born central defender thought the message in Portuguese was spam and did not bother replying. It was only when he received a follow-up message in English that he realised it was an offer to play international football for Cape Verde, who take on Spain in their opening World Cup group game on Monday. 

"Nine months later they messaged me back in English asking if I had thought about the proposal, and it was only then that I did what I should have done originally and Google-translated the original message asking if I would be interested in declaring for Cape Verde," a laughing Lopes told Reuters in a telephone interview prior to the tournament. 

"It was a weird angle to come at (via LinkedIn); it was explained to me afterwards that they had difficulty contacting my club, but when I saw the opportunity was there in front of me, I was 100 per cent behind it from the minute one, and we got working on getting all the necessary documentation across."

Known universally in the game by his nickname of "Pico", the 33-year-old has played his entire career in the League of Ireland for Bohemian FC and Shamrock Rovers and, with very few players from that league making it to the international stage, never mind the finals of a major tournament, he was sure his experience at that level was going to stay as one U19 cap for Ireland. 

Instead, the message saw him link up with the country of his father's birth, making his debut in a 2-0 win over Togo