Roberto Lopes sets sight on more AFCON glory

The centre-back made history by becoming the first Irish-born player to feature at the prestigious tournament when he played for Cape Verde on Sunday

Mon, 10 Jan, 2022 - 15:12

John Fallon

Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto Lopes is hungry for more action in the African Cup of Nations after playing the full match in Cape Verde’s win over Ethiopia on Sunday.

The centre-back made history by becoming the first Irish-born player to feature at the prestigious tournament having belatedly declared through his father Carlos in 2019.

Most countries at the 24-nation showpiece have been struck by Covid-19 withdrawals but Lopes’ side recovered from 19 positive cases within their camp during the build-up to record a 1-0 win at Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé.

A header by Julio Tavares on the stroke of half-time was enough against an Ethiopian side reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Yared Bayeh for a professional foul after a VAR review.

“It was probably one of the few times on the night where we worked the ball into a good position,” admitted 29-year-old Lopes, who has played for Ireland at youth level, in an interview with his club.

“Julio came alive in the box and really buried that header. It was an important time to score, really denting their confidence, we just had to solidify in the second half to get the three points.”

2 December 2020; Shamrock Rovers and Cape Verde footballer Roberto Lopes pictured at his home in Crumlin, Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Another victory on Thursday would guarantee them progression into the knockout stages but they would have to get past a Burkina Faso side who pushed highly-rated hosts Cameroon in a 2-1 defeat at the same venue on Sunday.

Lopes will be more settled at that stage, well used to the noise of the vuvuzelas that formed the backdrop to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“I’ve been woken up a few nights by the sound of vuvuzelas,” he joked. “I’m growing fond of them and it’s good craic on the streets.

"In the two nights leading up to the match, the nerves and excitement were kicking in at the thought of playing at such a big tournament.

“However, before the match on Sunday, I had a moment to myself to say I don't just want to be a part of this occasion, not just let the atmosphere take me.

“I want to come here and get stuck into the game and the most important thing was to get the three points.

“I had to put that to one side for the three hours around the game but I could enjoy the result and everything about the tournament afterwards.

"Covid has absolutely stricken our team. It was always going to be a feature of this tournament, missing players at certain times so we have to prepare, mentally more than anything else. There's nothing you can do when you are missing players; just have to use the players you have. Hopefully we'll have more players back for Thursday’s game and no new cases.

"The win has settled our nerves but we know that the opposition now will be a lot tougher.

“I didn't know too much about Burkina Faso coming into this tournament, just knew they were dark horses from previous tournaments.

“They took the lead against Cameroon in the first match and it will be a tough game, so we can't get carried away with our victory.”