Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes has arrived back in Dublin following his World Cup heroics with Cape Verde.
The 34-year-old from Crumlin was the only Irish-born player to play at the tournament and featured in every minute of the African side’s matches.
Cape Verde were knocked out of the competition at the round of 32 stage by Argentina following a 3-2 win last Friday after extra-time in what was a nail-biting encounter.
The Shamrock Rovers skipper has won much praise for his performances throughout the competition.
After coming up against Lionel Messi in Miami, it’s now back to League of Ireland duties for Lopes with his club Shamrock Rovers.
It was Cape Verde’s first World Cup appearance, reaching the knockout stage after holding Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia to draws before pushing the defending champions to the limit.
Their run was one of the biggest surprise stories of the tournament.