Every time the FIFA World Cup comes around, it gives a host of stories we remember long after the champions have lifted the trophy. These stories inspire us, some make us wonder while others force us to think.
The ongoing edition of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has already penned some beautiful stories worth remembering. On Monday, June 15, 2026 Cape Verde played their first every World Cup, making their debut against the mighty Spain.
In a historic contest, the country, having a population little over 5 lakhs, held Spain to a draw, and claiming their first ever World Cup point. Of the many architects of this achievement, was Roberto Lopes, whose tryst with the national team began via a message on LinkedIn!
When Cape Verde footballer Roberto Lopes signed into LinkedIn, he probably did not think that app will help him get recruited in the National Football team.
The 33-year-old defender plays for the Shamrock Rovers in Ireland and was one of the players who made crucial blocks against Spain, making it impossible for them to score.
Before the tournament kicked off, the player sat down with FIFPfro for a chat and shared the bizarre story of his entry into international football. "It is a crazy story of how I started in international football. Basically during college, I set up a LinkedIn account, connected with a few friends and left it in the dark for a few years. Then one day, I got a message from the manager of the Cape Verde team at the time, Rui Aguas", he said.
Roberto continued, "He dropped a welcome message in Portuguese, which I didn’t speak at the time. I just assumed it was like, "thanks for connecting with me, message or spam".
What makes this story even more exciting is that Roberto had actually ignored the message and did not reply for nine months until Rui reached out again, this time in English, writing, "Hi Roberto, have you had a chance to consider what I said to you?"
Clueless about what the offer was, Roberto did something he believes he should have done the first time he got the message: copy-pasted the previous message on Google Translate only to realise that it was an offer to play for the Cape Verde National team and read something like, "We're looking at getting new players into the Cape Verde squad and would you be interested in declaring for Cape Verde?"
"I felt so rude for not having replied to him months earlier...I messaged him as quickly as I could, apologised and said, look, if the opportunity is still available, I’d love to be a part of this. Three weeks later, I was in Marseille making my debut for Cape Verde", the player added.
Roberto Lopes, nicknamed Pico, is now among the formidable defenders in Cape Verde who were able to stop European Champions in the World Cup opening match and it had all started on LinkedIn.
Before becoming a professional footballer and playing for the Shamrock Rovers, Roberto worked as a mortgage adviser at Dublin Bank in 2017, a job he did not enjoy. It seems like, football was written in the stars for this player.
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