Roberto "Pico" Lopes

The most charming origin story at the World Cup. Dublin-born Lopes was working at a bank and playing part-time for Shamrock Rovers when Cape Verde's coach cold-messaged him on LinkedIn in 2018. He ignored it as spam — only translating the follow-up nine months later, then debuting within three weeks. He started against Spain on Cape Verde's World Cup debut, a 0–0 draw against the European champions.