Imagine playing in a World Cup thanks to a LinkedIn message. One of Cape Verde’s defensive leaders, Roberto “Pico” Lopes, was called up to represent his national team through the professional networking platform.

SURPRISING, BUT TRUE

"I was contacted to play for the national team through LinkedIn. It was a profile I had created when I was at university many years ago," Pico Lopes said about his unusual story, which began in the early 2010s.

Lopes, whose mother is Irish and father is Cape Verdean, received the message on LinkedIn but initially decided not to pay much attention to it.

"The coach at the time, Rui Águas, contacted me. He sent me a message in Portuguese, which I didn’t understand at the time. So, out of ignorance, I ignored it. I thought it was spam."

A LIFE-CHANGING MOMENT

Lopes recalls that Google Translate was the tool that helped him realize his mistake.

"Nine months later, he replied in English and I understood the message. I apologized profusely and said, ‘If the opportunity to play for Cape Verde still exists, I would love to be part of it.’ Fortunately, it did. I think a few weeks later the paperwork was completed, and I was already playing for them in Marseille against Togo," recalled the 33-year-old defender.

In the end, what seemed like a joke or a spam message on a social media platform turned into an incredible story. Pico Lopes went on to play in the Africa Cup of Nations and a World Cup, where Cape Verde earned a point against Spain in its tournament debut.

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