Pico Lopes got a call from his manager, Stephen Bradley, in the RTÉ studio after his Cape Verde side made the World Cup knockouts.

In what has been an incredible couple of weeks for the Shamrock Rovers man, he starred overnight as the African nation drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia in Houston. It was a cagey affair in Texas as Cape Verde, as they have been throughout the tournament, were resolute at the back.

Laros Duarte had the best chance of the match, with the Cape Verdean midfielder getting put through on goal by Nuno da Costa on a counterattack. But the Hungary-based midfielder had his effort saved by Mohamed Alowais in the Saudi goal.

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Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes of Cape Verde heads the ball. Pic: Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images

The deadlock was not to be broken, however, and after Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay in Guadalajara, Cape Verde amazingly finished second in their group on 3 points, just behind Spain and ahead of former two-time winners Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.

It’s an absolutely amazing story for the side playing at their first World Cup, and they are the second smallest nation ever to compete in the competition. And now what awaits them is probably the biggest test of all: Lionel Messi and Argentina in the Round of 32.

It’s a story that has also made Pico Lopes a celebrity overnight. He was a familiar face to League of Ireland fans before, but after his story gained international recognition, Lopes has become a household name.

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Pico Lopes holds up the Ireland flag. Pic: Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

He still had time after his side’s draw to call up his Shamrock Rovers gaffer, Stephen Bradley, who was in the RTÉ studio, and was able to laugh, saying, ‘Would you believe I was called for doping?’, as he was called for a drugs test after his performance.

The studio chuckled at that before host Joanne Cantwell asked Lopes about the prospect of facing Messi and Argentina and how he must be living the dream, with Lopes talking about his side’s journey through the tournament thus far.

‘Yeah, absolutely,’ the Shamrock Rovers defender explained. ‘I say the first two games were amazing, it gave us a great opportunity, but it would’ve meant nothing if we had gone and spoiled it today, but thankfully we held our nerve, got the point that we needed, and yeah, we have a great game to look forward to now next week.’

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Pico Lopes celebrated with his teammates after going through to the World Cup Round of 32. Pic: Joe Buvid/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images

Elsewhere in the World Cup overnight, Belgium topped Group G after they smashed New Zealand 5-1 in Vancouver, with Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard scoring a brace. However, the drama was in Seattle as Iran thought they were through after Shoja Khalilzadeh scored to put his side up 2-1 in injury time, however, after the chaotic celebrations, the goal was ruled out for offside.

It meant that Egypt finished the group in second, with Iran in third and had to wait to find out if they got one of the eight best third-placed spots.

There may be no Ireland in the World Cup this summer, but Pico Lopes is representing the nation with pride, and it looks like there’s no better man to be receiving the adulation right now.