Pádraig Amond, the League of Ireland's leading scorer and the last striker to face Cape Verdean defender Pico Lopes before his World Cup journey, has advised Lopes to savor the experience and try to secure Lionel Messi's shirt.
Lopes, the captain of Shamrock Rovers, has faced Amond, who plays for Waterford FC, eight to ten times since 2024. Their most recent encounter was just before Lopes departed for the World Cup.
"Enjoy the game, enjoy the occasion," Amond told the Irish Mail on Sunday regarding Friday's knockout match against Argentina. "You’re playing against perhaps the greatest player that’s ever played – the best player I’ve ever seen playing – so enjoy the fact that you’ve come up against him at his World Cup swansong."
Amond suggested that Lopes try to get Messi's shirt in the final minutes of the game. "And just when the clock starts to hit 89, 90 minutes, start loitering towards him and see if he can get his shirt, because there won’t be many shirts from Messi’s last World Cup."
Describing Lopes as a "really, really nice person," Amond expressed his admiration for the defender's performance at the World Cup. "It’s great seeing him doing so well, because I know how tough he is to play against, but equally I know how much better the other players are in the World Cup than what I am, so the fact he’s lifted his level to that level is very, very impressive."
Amond, a native of Carlow, sent Lopes a message of support before the tournament. His son, a football enthusiast, is a fan of Ronaldo but Amond is attempting to convince him of Messi's superiority.
Amond himself scored a hat-trick for Waterford five days before Messi scored three goals in Argentina's opening World Cup match. "I suppose that’s where the comparisons probably end," Amond quipped.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Pugliese, owner of the Argentinian bakery Bakeology in Dublin, anticipates a challenging match for Cape Verde against the reigning champions. "We are the [reigning] world champions and we have Messi. We don’t need anyone else. Of course we’re going to win, but it’s going to be hard." Pugliese confirmed that while Messi would receive free empanadas if he visited the bakery, Lopes would not be offered complimentary cakes, even if he made a mistake against Argentina. "Everything is money!" he stated.