Cape Verde Aims for World Cup History Against Saudi Arabia
Pico Lopes steps into the World Cup spotlight tonight in Houston carrying two flags on his shoulders.
On one side, Cape Verde, the Atlantic archipelago daring to stretch its footballing story into the knockout rounds at the first attempt. On the other, Ireland, the country where he grew up, where the TV once got wheeled into a Dublin classroom so a boy could watch Robbie Keane and Damien Duff sink Saudi Arabia in Yokohama.
Now he is the one facing Saudi Arabia with everything on the line.
Cape Verde on the brink of history
The equation is brutally simple. After a superb 0-0 draw with Spain and a 1-1 stalemate against Uruguay, Cape Verde will reach the last 16 with either a draw or a win tonight. One more result, and a debut World Cup becomes a landmark one.
On the islands off the coast of Senegal, it will be 11pm when they kick off. In Ireland, 1am. In both places, sleep can wait.
The parallels with 2002 are impossible to ignore. Back then, goals from Keane, Gary Breen and Duff against Saudi Arabia pushed the Republic of Ireland into the knockout stages in Japan. Lopes remembers that day vividly, the sense of occasion, the classroom buzz.
“Wouldn't it be amazing now if history repeated itself and that was the sort of win that took us to the next phase,” he said before the game.
This time, he is not the kid watching. He is the captain leading.
Respect for Saudi Arabia, belief in themselves
For all the romance, there is no hint of complacency from the Shamrock Rovers defender. The opportunity is huge, but the warning lights are on.
“It's a great opportunity for us and we can't get drawn in thinking that's going to be an easy game or a foregone conclusion,” Lopes said. “I think Saudi Arabia are a really good team. They have some real quality in the side that can hurt you. We won't be getting carried away yet. Just focus on the game at hand and hopefully we can get it done.”
Cape Verde coach Bubista struck a similar tone: grounded, but defiant.
“We are very happy to be able to participate in the World Cup,” he said. “Football belongs to everyone. It does not belong only to wealthier countries.
“Saudi Arabia are a very organised team. They have great transitions, it is a difficult opponent, but we will rely on our organisation. We have confidence in our plan.”
That organisation has already rattled giants. Against Spain, Cape Verde conceded just one free-kick over 90 minutes, a remarkable statistic at this level and a sign of a team that knows exactly what it is doing without the ball. Against Uruguay, they went a step further, taking the lead with their first ever World Cup goal, a Kevin Pina free-kick that etched its way into national folklore the moment it hit the net.
Mood in the camp, noise back home
Little wonder the dressing room feels alive.
“The mood is good,” Lopes said. “It's a final group game, but we're going into it with everything to play for.
“It's all in our hands, so we know what a win will do for progress to the next round, so we're really looking forward to just attacking the game from the start.”
He knows how far they have already come, and how deliberately they have walked this path.
“I wouldn't say expected but it's a position that we wanted to be in. We knew it would be difficult but we knew we could achieve it if we believed it.
“We knew the first two games would be very difficult. To pick up two points out of them was huge and it probably gives us that little bit of a lift going into the final game as well given the format of the competition.”
That lift is not just coming from Praia or Mindelo. It is coming from Dublin, Tallaght and beyond.
With the Republic of Ireland beaten in the play-offs by Czechia, who have already gone home, many Irish supporters have turned their gaze to the blue of Cape Verde. The connection is obvious: their national team may have missed out, but one of their own is right in the middle of the World Cup story.
“I'm very aware,” Lopes admitted. “A lot of my friends, a lot of my family, send me stuff every day and it's incredible. I'm really overwhelmed with the support of Irish people.
“To really get behind it and back it and adopting nearly Cape Verde as a second country. I think someone mentioned the 33rd county. It's brilliant. I'm looking forward to thanking everyone when I am home.”
First, though, comes Saudi Arabia under the Houston lights, with Cape Verde a result away from breaking new ground and an Irish World Cup memory looping back on itself in the most unexpected way.
