'I'm probably the luckiest person in the world' - Lopes helps Cape Verde make history

AFTER MAKING HISTORY with Cape Verde, Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto Lopes quickly turned his attention to making the long journey home to be with his wife, Leah, for the birth of their first child.

A 3-0 win over Eswatini yesterday saw Cape Verde become the second smallest country after Iceland to qualify for the World Cup. The archipelago off the coast of Senegal has a population of just 560,000.

And with the celebrations in full flow, Lopes struggled to sum up the scale of the achievement.

“I can’t put it into words to do it justice, hopefully you’ll see videos of it because it’s amazing,” Lopes said.

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The 33-year-old qualifies for Cape Verde through his father, Carlos, who was at yesterday’s game alongside Lopes’ father-in-law, Martin.

“Yeah, special, they both made the trip. It’s a long trip, as Martin found out for his first time there!

“To have them there was really special for me. It gave me extra motivation to try and get the job done to hopefully to see us through for the World Cup and we did that.

“I hope he’s [Carlos] very proud. He’s the reason that I’m playing for the Cape Verde national team, and to represent him and represent my family at the biggest stage in football is just amazing.

“I can’t put it into words. I know some people would say a boy from Crumlin, playing in the League of Ireland his whole career, playing international football when I 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.”

The win saw Cape Verde top their qualifying group with 23 points, four clear of Cameroon.

“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’m overjoyed at the moment and it’s an amazing feeling.

“The funny thing about this week is that football has been the last thing on my mind,” Lopes continued.

“I really mean that. Me and my wife are expecting our first child. It could be any time now!

“I enjoyed the celebrations after the game but I’m really looking forward to getting home and hopefully being there for the birth of our child.”