Cape Verde star Pico López became emotional following his country’s dramatic defeat at the World Cup and called off an interview early. The African island nation pushed Argentina to the end in their Round of 32 match, with reigning champions Argentina needing a late winner in extra time to overcome their opponents.
Cape Verde, making their first appearance in the World Cup finals, drew with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia to advance to the final round. Despite falling behind twice against Lionel Messi’s Argentina side, they came back both times and Sidney López Cabral produced one of the best moments of the tournament with a stunning goal to make it 2-2 in extra time.
Cape Verde scored an own goal in the second half of overtime, making Argentina 3-2, but they suffered heartbreakingly in the final stages. However, the country has won the hearts of its fans with its performances.
One of the team’s standout stories is Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopez. The centre-back was born in Ireland but has qualified for Cape Verde through his father.
Speaking to the BBC after the match, he said: “We came into this tournament wanting to make history, to show that we deserve to be here, and I think overall we’ve shown that we’re more than capable of competing with the best teams in the world.”
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Ten years ago, the centre-back was working as a mortgage advisor. He also came to represent Cape Verde through a message he received from the social media site LinkedIn.
When asked about his own personal journey, he added: “Yeah, I just try to stay in the moment as much as I can. I think there comes a time when I think about it, which is great, if I do say so myself, but my ambition, my dream, was just to work hard every day and try to get a little bit better.
“And there’s also a bit of pride in the fact that I’ve gone from where I was 10 years ago to where I am now, because…”
He then became emotional, adding, “I’m done,” and calmly walked away from the interview.
His club, Shamrock Rovers, responded to the interview with a simple message: “We’re proud of you,” along with a green heart emoji.
He also received support from fans on social media. “No pico no party, what an absolute hero! He deserves everything,” one person wrote.
A second said: “Incredible @picolopes an absolute hero.” A third added: “I agree. Well done to this guy. He’s brought real excitement to two countries. And he doesn’t deserve any less.”
“What a gentleman deserves all the credit @picolopes for his great performance at the World Cup,” said a fourth man.
Lopez made his international debut in 2019 and won his 49th cap against Argentina. He played every available minute at the World Cup and is likely to be hailed as a hero upon his return to both Cape Verde and Ireland.
