Lopes 'living out a dream' at World Cup - Grace

Grace has been playing alongside Lopes at Shamrock Rovers since 2017 [Getty Images] The Republic of Ireland may have missed out on qualification for this year's World Cup, but Shamrock Rovers centre-back Lee Grace still has a vested interest in the tournament. The 33-year-old will be cheering on Cape Verde in their first appearance at the finals as his centre-back partner at Rovers and friend Roberto 'Pico' Lopes will be featuring for the second smallest nation to ever qualify for a World Cup. Lopes and Grace joined the League of Ireland side around the same time, with the former arriving from Bohemians in November 2016 and the latter in August 2017 from Galway United. They have since gone on to forge a solid defensive partnership during a spell of sustained success for the Dublin club, winning five Premier Division titles and two FAI Cups as well as enjoying two campaigns in the Uefa Conference League. It has been quite the journey for the two who have "been together the bones of nearly 10 years" and Grace is relishing seeing the Rovers captain play on the biggest stage after witnessing his rise to this point. "He's an absolutely brilliant player. He's a leader, he was always a leader before he was named captain of the club. He sets the standard the way he trains, gives his life to football, so to see him get the rewards is very pleasing for all of us," Grace told BBC Sport's Nathan Edwards. "We're all very proud of him. As a player he'll tell you himself, he has improved since he came to the club and has been one of the best defenders in the league, so delighted to see him producing on the big stage. We're very much looking forward to it." Shamrock's Lopes makes Cape Verde's World Cup squad Cape Verde's Roberto Lopes gets warm Irish send-off World Cup-bound Cape Verdean Lopes relishing his week to remember 'The whole League of Ireland will get behind him' Lopes was given a send-off by Shamrock Rovers fans at Tallaght before their 2-1 loss against Sligo Rovers in May [Getty Images] Lopes, who was born in Dublin to a Cape Verdean father and Irish mother, made his debut for the country in 2019, having previously made one appearance for the Republic of Ireland Under-19s in 2011. He received a warm send-off from his native suburb of Crumlin and from Rovers fans in his last game for the club before jetting off stateside. There were plenty of Cape Verde flags in the crowd in Tallaght on that night at the end of May and Grace believes everyone around the league and in the country as a whole will be keen to get behind one of their own. "It's unbelievable. That's everyone's dream to play for your country at the World Cup. Pico was born and raised in Ireland but his dad is from Cape Verde and he has a load of family out there so I'm sure he's very proud to represent them," Grace added. "I think that the whole of the League of Ireland will get behind Pico. He's representing this league first and foremost and Ireland as a country. You can see the support he's getting already. "The last game before he left, he was brought out onto the pitch at half-time, there was a lot of Cape Verde flags there and Pico got a send-off by the fans. I don't think only Shamrock Rovers fans will be behind him, it's the Irish connection and something to shout for on the biggest stage." Grace will have to adjust his sleep schedule to watch some of Cape Verde's group stage games. They start their campaign in Group H against 2010 champions Spain on 15 June at 17:00 BST, followed by Uruguay on 21 June at 22:00 BST and Saudi Arabia six days later at 01:00 BST. "The first game against Spain is fine, the next are at 10pm and one in the morning so I'll definitely watch the 5pm and 10pm and see if I'm still awake for the 1am game! "Whatever happens, win, lose or draw he's playing on the biggest stage and living out a dream."