Pico Lopes proud of history-making Cape Verde after Argentina loss
Updated / Saturday, 4 Jul 2026 10:55
An emotional Pico Lopes reflected on his own football journey and that of Cape Verde after their dramatic and heartbreaking extra-time defeat to Argentina.
In a game that delivered far more than most anticipated - a moment of Lionel Messi magic, a shock Cape Verde equaliser, potentially the goal of the tournament in Sidny Lopes Cabral's curling thunderbolt and romantic celebration - Pico Lopes excelled in defence, making a number of hugely important interventions.
His 80th minute clearance from inside his own six-yard box undoubtedly denied Argentina a winner.
After the game he spoke about what the tiny island nation from off the coast of Senegal had achieved at their first World Cup - going undefeated in their group to finish second behind Spain and ahead of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, before going toe-to-toe with the World Champions.
"We said coming into this tournament that we wanted to make history. That we deserved to be here. And I think overall we showed that we are more than capable of competing with some of the best teams in the world," he told the BBC.
"We dreamed we could be here," the Crumlin native told DAZN. "We achieved it. We showed it is possible for small nations that have big hearts, if you put the hard work in and believe you can be here.
"We've created history by competing at a first World Cup and to get out of the group is an amazing achievement.
"Hopefully we have shown the way for future generations. This is important now, you get a taste for it and you want to be at every World Cup. Hopefully in four years' time we will have a Cape Verde team here."
Whether Lopes (34) is still playing internationally in four years remains to be seen, but his professionalism has seen him achieve more than most could have predicted.
The BBC asked him about his journey from a mortgage advisor who played part-time to a League of Ireland stalwart who has made history at the World Cup.
"I try to stay in the moment as much as I can. There will be a time for me to reflect but it's been amazing.
"My ambition, my dream, was just to work hard every day and try to get better. Try to get that little bit better. And the fact of where I was 10 years ago to where I am now, there's a little bit of pride there as well."
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