Summer madness has descended on League of Ireland supporters of every hue who this weekend find themselves in the unusual and borderline hallucinatory position of cheering on a Shamrock Rovers player. Even more surreally, it is a Shamrock Rovers player lighting up the World Cup rather than Ballybofey or Dalymount on a dank Monday in February. Short of airborne barnyard animals appearing in the sky over Turner’s Cross or The Showgrounds, it is as unlikely a turn of events as you can imagine.

That player is, of course, Roberto “Pico” Lopes, the stalwart Shamrock centre back who, in the space of a month, has gone from lining out at the south Dublin County Council Lego Wonderland that is Tallaght Stadium to helping tiny Cape Verde keep the mighty Spain at bay. And his adventures may only have started. Depending on results this weekend, he may soon potentially be marking GOAT almighty Lionel Messi in a knockout tie against Argentina. Stranger things have happened in Irish soccer – remember that time Bohemian FC won a trophy? – but not many.

Squaring up to Messi in the World Cup is as big as it gets in global sport. Judging by Cape Verde’s performances so far, it is – moreover – by no means a given that the three-time Champions League winner would wipe the floor with Lopes. The caveat is that, for Messi v Lopes to become a reality, Cape Verde will first have to defeat Saudi Arabia at 1am Irish time on Saturday. But considering that they’ve ground........

© The Irish Times