PARIS — Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes might have been whiling away his time as a mortgage advisor in Ireland instead of preparing to face Uruguay in the World Cup on Sunday had Shamrock Rovers not come calling.

The 34-year-old’s outstanding defensive performance for Cape Verde in the 0-0 draw with European champions Spain on Monday justified his decision to cut short working in the bank in 2017 and bet the house on making it as a professional footballer.

At the time he was combining his job with playing for Bohemians in the League of Ireland when their wealthier Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers offered him a professional contract.

The World Cup has catapulted him to a different level of exposure, appearing on US TV following the impressive World Cup debut by the African volcanic archiphelago of just 525,000 people.

Lopes, born in Ireland to Cape Verdean father Carlos and Irish mother Judy, was invited on to James Corden’s World Cup show on broadcaster Fox.

He said it was “the stuff of dreams” and it certainly has been since he belatedly put a message he received in 2018 from then Cape Verde coach Rui Aguas on LinkedIn, into Google Translate.

Aguas had got back in touch nine months later to ask him if he had he considered his offer.

“He said they were interested in getting new players into the national team and asked if it would be of interest,” Lopes told AFP in 2024.

“I said absolutely and apologised profusely, and that if the opportunity was still there I would love to be a part of it.”