I thought it was an e-mail from a recruitment site The story of the defender who read the contact of the national university coach, is about to make a big hit in the World Cup

Sep 16, 2025

I thought it was an e-mail from a recruitment site The story of the defender who read the contact of the national university coach, is about to make a big hit in the World Cup



I thought it was an e-mail from a recruitment site The story of the defender who read the contact of the national university coach, is about to make a big hit in the World Cup
The story of Roberto López (33, Shamrock Rovers), a defender who plays for the African gust team Cabo Verde, is being re-examined.

López received one email that would change his fate as a footballer in 2019. It was an e-mail sent directly by Cabo Verde, the coach of the national team.

According to local media, López ignored emails in a recent interview because he could not speak Portuguese. I thought it was a welcome message from LinkedIn (business platform)."




Cabo Verde, an island nation on the African continent, was a Portuguese colony until its independence in 1975. I still speak Portuguese as my mother tongue. The manager who sent the mail at the time was Hui Aguas, who was from Portugal. Aguas is a striker who has played for prestigious clubs such as Benfica and Porto, and has played 31 A matches (10 goals) for Portugal. He served as Cabo Verde coach twice, 2014-2016 and 2018-2019.

I thought it was an e-mail from a recruitment site The story of the defender who read the contact of the national university coach, is about to make a big hit in the World Cup
López responded to an English-language email sent by Iguaz nine months later. He "Once I got the mail again, I opened my old email and used Google Translator to check the contents." He said, `Please play for Cabo Verde.

López, who served as Ireland's youth representative, responded to Iguaz's request. López, born to a Cabo Verde father and an Irish mother, joined the Cabo Verde national team in 2019 and played 38 A matches as Cabo Verde's main defender for six years.




López, who led his team to a surprise quarterfinal at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, is also on the verge of playing in the World Cup, his dream of becoming a soccer player. Cabo Verde, a small country with a population of only 420,000, is set to advance to the 2026 North-China World Cup finals. Cabo Verde, ranked 73rd in FIFA, continues its unbeaten run in the African qualifiers, beating Cameroon by four points to lead Group D. If he wins only one game in the remaining two games, he can win the World Cup for the first time in history.

López rejoiced "What a dream for us" "Playing for my country and being able to make my family happy means a lot to me," midfielder Yovane Cabral (Estrella Amadora) said. It is one of the teams that can meet Hong Myung-bo in the World Cup finals.

In the past 'Sweden Legends' Henrik Larsson, 'French Legends'Patrick Vieira, and former Portuguese striker Nani were known to be of Cabo Verde descent, but they did not wear Cabo Verde uniforms. Now, it has strengthened its power by naturalizing 'talented' who grew up in Portugal, Brazil, and the Netherlands. Captain and living legend Ryan Mendes (Cozaelispor) has played in the French Ligue 1 club as a member of Lille OSC in the past.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.