However, a team-mate got there before him, so he held onto his own top, and reflected that it will be a more prized possession for him after their famous 0-0 draw against European Champions Spain.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cDo you know what, I never looked to swap jerseys, but I think I\u2019ve had a word with myself in this tournament and said, \u2018Do you know what, I\u2019m going to break that sort of rule.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI looked to swap the striker Oyarzabal\u2019s jersey but my defensive counterpart got there before me – and after that, I was like \u2018Look, it wasn\u2019t meant to be. It\u2019s not what I do\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I just went back in and, to be fair, I think that Cape Verde jersey, my first ever at the World Cup, that\u2019ll be going back to with me, so I\u2019m really glad that I didn\u2019t swap it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Shamrock Rovers defender was at the heart of Cape Verde\u2019s heroic defensive display against one of the favourites for this World Cup.<\/p>\n Even in the aftermath of an incredible outcome he had the presence of mind to think that he doesn\u2019t normally go crazy after a draw \u2013 but this an extremely precious point in the circumstances:<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a surreal moment. I suppose after the game I felt a bit lost in the headlights. I was just looking for my family and just wanted to celebrate that moment with them.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then afterwards you\u2019re in the air of \u2018What just happened here?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose in a competitive environment it\u2019s really unusual to be celebrating a draw but I had some time to myself in the dressing room reflecting on it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat point, what that means, was of course a point at a World Cup against one of the best teams in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very happy moment for us and I\u2019m very proud of this group.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a draw which was very much regarded as a victory for Cape Verde, and Lopes was delighted their game-plan had worked out so well:<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose we knew going into the game we\u2019d be up against it, they\u2019d have most of the ball and we\u2019d have to be resolute in our defending and look, maybe hope that they had a bit of an off day in terms of firing at the goal.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, thankfully, our goalkeeper, Vozinha, he was amazing and he deserves all the plaudits. He\u2019s 40 years of age and putting in performances like that.<\/p>\n \u201cI think to man defensively we were very, very good and probably deserved that point.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom an attacking point of view we probably only showed a bit of danger towards the end when the subs came on, they really helped us get through the game.<\/p>\n \u201cBut to get a point against a massive team, us not expecting to get anything from it, it just goes to show why we love the game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Pico\u2019 had a brief reunion with his wife and young son the day before the game, and then saw them at the match, having checked out their location in the ground before kick-off:<\/p>\n \u201cI only got to see them in the stadium. I managed to sort of scope where they\u2019d be sitting before the game. I had an idea where they\u2019d be sitting in the stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cI managed to look up and wave in the direction and I could see them waving back. <\/p>\n \u201cThen after the game, we were straight from the stadium to the airport back in Tampa that night.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t get to stay around in the stadium, but the day before the game, I was able to see Leah and Diego and the family at the hotel, which was lovely.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like forever since I\u2019ve been back at home and just in that sort of natural routine of waking up with the baby and obviously going to the training and just being around everybody. Just to have that moment and just to give them both a squeeze was really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n Cape Verde have become the favourite second side of everyone in the world – apart from Spaniards, perhaps – and Lopes has been touched by all the goodwill coming towards him and his team-mates:<\/p>\n \u201cI have messages still on my phone today from the people back home. Some people probably haven\u2019t had more than two conversations with me, but they reached out to me and sent their well-wishes and congratulations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s overwhelming, really, the support that I\u2019ve had from back home.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all from friends, family, Shamrock Rovers fans, League of Ireland fans, and people who just managed to pick up on this Cape Verde story and just think it\u2019s the best thing ever.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, some really, really nice messages that I have coming through and I\u2019m hoping to get back to everyone. It\u2019ll be difficult, but I\u2019ll try my best.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE one time a Spanish attacker got away from \u2018Pico\u2019 Lopes cost him \u2013 but only after the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5033,19353,17,369],"class_list":["post-41657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-dublin","tag-shamrock-rovers","tag-spain","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781643084_752_KKUB3WTWFNI4HGCLPS3OR46K44.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Montpellier](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781643085_222_7LZXMLCWSNDH7NXBJ355L4KEXY.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WQG5M24MMBACTGZGRVBJNS7TKE.JPG\")
Roperto Lopes in Shamrock Rovers colours.
\nREUTERS\/Eva Korinkova\/File Photo (Eva Korinkova\/REUTERS) <\/p>\n![\"Cape](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JUUPPZL46ZPOLAZ7XSJBFEZZKU.jpg\")
Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha has become a viral sensation after shutting out Spain on Monday (Mike Stewart\/AP) (Mike Stewart\/AP Photo\/Mike Stewart) <\/p>\n![\"Cape](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SL2DUWB6BVGQ5EHZAXY2Q7MMBM.JPG\")
Cape Verde fans Lwam Mahari, Viviany Barbosa Brito, Bruna Barbosa, Ginaldo Verdieu, and Alex Monteiro celebrate after watching the match on a screen at Town Field Park in Dorchester.
\nPic: REUTERS\/Taylor Coester (Taylor Coester\/REUTERS) <\/p>\n