CAPED CRUSADER

Hoops hail World Cup-bound defender Lopes

- BY PAUL O'HEHIR

WHILE Ireland's World Cup mission was blown off the road this week, one Irishman remains firmly on track to play at the 2026 finals.

Dubliner Roberto Lopes is enjoying another remarkable odyssey with Cape Verde, the African island nation his father hails from.

And the Shamrock Rovers captain is just one win away from qualification, after a brilliant 1-0 take down of Cameroon on the same night Ireland fell apart in Armenia.

'Pico' has already played at two Africa Cup of Nations finals but sitting top of this qualifying group, he will be World Cup-bound if they pick up three more points.