{"id":523632,"date":"2026-06-29T05:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/523632\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T05:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T05:02:21","slug":"judy-lopes-says-her-son-pico-will-relish-world-cup-showdown-against-lionel-messi-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/523632\/","title":{"rendered":"Judy Lopes says her son Pico will \u2018relish\u2019 World Cup showdown against Lionel Messi \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nobody gave Cape Verde a chance of progressing beyond their group at the World Cup. They were, after all, drawn in Group H, which included the might of European Champions Spain, Marcelo Bielsa\u2019s Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. But the small African nation have confounded the critics and on Friday, they will face Lionel Messi and Argentina in the round of 32.<\/p>\n

The improbable dream became a reality on Saturday when Cape Verde drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia to finish second in the group and go through to the knockout stages of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Shamrock Rovers centre-half and Crumlin native Roberto \u201cPico\u201d Lopes<\/a> (34) was an integral part of the historic occasion at Houston Stadium in Texas.<\/p>\n

In the celebrations, Pico appeared on the pitch with an Ireland flag wrapped around him. Getting to represent Cape Verde and Ireland on the world stage, Pico\u2019s mother Judy told The Irish Times, is important for him and his family<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to represent both his own country and his father\u2019s country as well,\u201d she said on Sunday, after flying home from the US, where she witnessed her son\u2019s heroics in the flesh.<\/p>\n

\"CapeCape Verde defender Pico Lopes celebrates with an Irish flag after Cape Verde qualified for the World Cup round of 32 with a scoreless draw against Saudi Arabia at Houston Stadium, Texas, on Saturday. Photograph: Michael Steele\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Pico Lopes had not planned to display a tricolour. Some of his extended family were seated beside two fans from Ireland who gave the flag to the player.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they actually were Bohs supporters, I think it was them who provided the flag for us,\u201d said Judy Lopes. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the current climate \u2013 where the world is so crazy at the moment \u2010 it\u2019s a welcome relief to see that on the world stage, nations can unite and that\u2019s what support is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said it is great for Irish soccer to have \u201csomeone who has built their whole career here in Ireland, in the League of Ireland\u201d, representing the league internationally.<\/p>\n

Judy met Carlos Lopes when the cargo ship he was working on as a chef docked in Dublin. A relationship blossomed and they have been together for 38 years. They have three children, including Pico. <\/p>\n

Both parents were at the fateful match on Saturday alongside Pico\u2019s wife Leah.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, the last few minutes… I don\u2019t know how they actually didn\u2019t score,\u201d said Judy. \u201cThey must have had about 15 attempts on goal!\u201d<\/p>\n

While a draw against Saudi Arabia proved enough to get them through the group in second place, it was crucial that Spain picked up a positive result against Uruguay in the other group game.<\/p>\n

So, the end of the match did not mark the end of the tension for the Lopes family and the rest of the Cape Verde supporters. <\/p>\n

Waiting for the result of the Spain and Uruguay match \u201cfelt like hours, but it was only a few minutes\u201d. In the stadium, and in Crumlin<\/a>, there was a \u201clull\u201d until news of Spain\u2019s 1-0 win was confirmed.<\/p>\n

\"CapeCape Verde defender Pico Lopes (left) jumps for a header against Mikel Oyarzabal of Spain during the World Cup Group H match in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 15th. Photograph: Marvin Ibo Guengoer – GES Sportfoto\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cOur game was over, but nobody was sure what was happening. It was a very strange atmosphere. Then, all of a sudden, the news came through that they had come second in their group and the place went bananas, as you can imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pico Lopes had to provide a sample for a doping test straight after the match. As a result, he missed some of the team\u2019s celebrations, but he eventually caught up with them \u2013 along with his family \u2013 at the team hotel.<\/p>\n

As part of the send-off in Crumlin, Judy was given a large sign reading \u201cGood luck Pico\u201d from the pupils at Loreto Junior Primary School on the Crumlin Road where she works as secretary. She worked her way around the celebrations getting the Cape Verde players to sign the banner. <\/p>\n

Judy is back to work on Monday. After speaking with The Irish Times, she had a clothes wash to put on. But life is far from returning to normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like Ireland has adopted Cape Verde as the 33rd county,\u201d she said, as the family has fielded media requests internationally and has even been recognised by fans in the US who recognised them from social media content.<\/p>\n

In some ways, she said, she is looking forward to things returning to normal, but this is a \u201conce-in-a-lifetime kind of thing\u201d and the family is enjoying it while it lasts.<\/p>\n

Pico is preparing for a fresh test on Friday night (11pm, RT\u00c9 2), when he will face the greatest football player of all time, Lionel Messi, and the reigning world champions.<\/p>\n

Judy added: \u201cFor him to be up against one of the best players in the world, he\u2019ll relish that, because he likes to get tested.<\/p>\n

\u201cTesting yourself against the best can only make you better as a player. He\u2019s very capable, very calm under pressure.\u201c<\/p>\n

Against all odds, Cape Verde fancy their chances and Judy is buoyant about their chances of pulling off the ultimate upset.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you know, nobody gave them a chance against Spain. It was 1 per cent of getting through the group but they did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

With permission from her school to take time to go back to the US for Friday\u2019s match, Judy\u2019s next task is to look at airline tickets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nobody gave Cape Verde a chance of progressing beyond their group at the World Cup. They were, after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,2539,43,11113,40,38,41,39,4018],"class_list":["post-523632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-league-of-ireland","tag-news","tag-shamrock-rovers","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}