Cape Verde's Pico Lopes walks out of BBC interview in tears after Argentina heartbreak

Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes cut short a post-match BBC interview in tears after Cape Verde’s agonising 3-2 extra-time defeat to Argentina in the World Cup round of 32, with his club Shamrock Rovers and supporters across social media rallying around the defender in the aftermath.

Cape Verde, in their maiden World Cup finals appearance, had pushed the reigning champions to the brink. Despite falling behind twice, they levelled at 2-2 in extra time through Sidny Lopes Cabral’s spectacular strike, only for an own goal to hand Argentina a late winner and end their tournament.

Lopes, born in Ireland but qualifying for Cape Verde through his father, had already reflected on the team’s achievement before emotion overtook him. “We said coming into this tournament that we wanted to make history, we wanted to show that we deserve to be here, and I think overall that we showed we’re more than capable of competing with some of the best teams in the world,” he told the BBC.

Asked about his personal journey — which included working as a mortgage adviser ten years ago and first being contacted about representing Cape Verde through a LinkedIn message — he began to speak before his voice gave way. “The fact that where I was ten years ago, to where I am now, though, there’s a little bit of pride there as well because…” He paused, said “I’m going to stop,” and stepped away from the camera.

Shamrock Rovers responded to the clip with a single word on social media: “proud,” alongside a green heart. Supporters echoed the sentiment. “No Pico no party, what an absolute hero — he deserves it all,” wrote one. “Incredible. Absolute hero,” added another. A third noted he had “brought genuine excitement to two countries.”

Cape Verde’s run to the knockout stage was built on draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in the group stage — a sequence that underlined just how far the African island nation has travelled in the sport. Their exit against Lionel Messi’s Argentina was, by any measure, one of the tournament’s more remarkable stories.