Shamrock Rovers to stop at a pub to watch captain Pico Lopes face Messi's Argentina

Shamrock Rovers captain Pico Lopes will face Lionel Messi and Argentina in the World Cup knockout round in Miami instead of leading his club side at Sligo Rovers — and his team-mates intend to find a pub on the journey home to Dublin to watch every minute of it.

Lopes would ordinarily have been marshalling Rovers’ defence at Sligo’s The Showgrounds as the Dublin club look to extend their lead at the top of the League of Ireland Premier Division. Instead, the defender lines up for Cape Verde in front of 65,000 fans at the Miami Stadium, in what his club describe as the greatest moment in their history.

Rovers press officer Mark Lynch confirmed the squad’s plans. “Our game will finish about an hour before Pico’s match kicks off,” he said. “So the team want to find a pub somewhere on the way back that is showing it. The team bus will be stopping. We’re taking about 400-500 fans as well.”

The match cannot be screened at Rovers’ own Tallaght Stadium, which is council-owned and has no facility to show live broadcasts, making a roadside stop the only option for the travelling party.

Lopes had hoped to return in time for Rovers’ Champions League first-leg qualifier against Maltese champions Floriana, but Lynch confirmed the logistics make that impossible. The defender will instead target the return leg in Ireland the following week.

Despite the scale of the occasion, Lynch insists Lopes will be welcomed back without fanfare. “Within the group he will be treated just the same. And he would want that. He’s a humble fella. One of the good guys,” Lynch said. “The vibe has been great. The media interest in him has ignited. Everything has been amplified. And if Cape Verde beat Argentina, they will have basically won the World Cup. He’s probably the most famous footballer in Ireland, but all the publicity won’t change him.”

Lynch also raised the prospect of Lopes securing one of football’s most coveted souvenirs. “He’ll have hold of it for the full 90 minutes, so he might as well get it from him at the final whistle,” he said of a potential Messi shirt swap.