IF THE CAPE FITSAbout a month ago, Roberto “Pico” Lopes thought he was meeting his parents for a Sunday dinner in Crumlin on the outskirts of Dublin, but was met by a surprise party of friends, family and neighbours, all adorned in Cape Verde colours, to give him a special send-off for the Geopolitics World Cup. Dublin born and raised, Lopes looked positively delirious as he waved at the small crowd of loved ones. “We’re going to get a camper van and travel through the States,” beamed Lopes’s wife, Leah O’Shaughnessy, holding their seven-month-old son, Diego. “He probably won’t remember it, but we’ll be able to look back on the photos and videos and say that he was able to watch his daddy in the [GWC].”And what photos, what videos they will be, footage and memories that will now for ever be part of Cape Verde’s history. Lopes, who initially ignored the African archipelago’s invitation on LinkedIn to play for them because he thought the Portuguese message was spam, is now a legend of his country after making history on his nation’s World Cup debut with a 0-0 draw against pre-tournament favourites Spain. Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Aitana Bonmatí, Pablo Picasso, Rafael Nadal, Penélope Cruz, Seve Ballesteros, Puss in Boots, Salvador Dalí, Anthony Gordon, Trent Alexander-Arnold – your boys took one hell of a beating neutralising.With Leah and Diego in the stands alongside Lopes’s mother and father – Carlos, a cruise ship chef, who docked and settled in Dublin where he met Judy – the Shamrock Rovers defender tackled, snarled, blocked and marshalled his side through the 90-plus minutes with exceptional discipline. Cape Verde’s players committed only one foul against Spain – the fewest ever by any team in a World Cup match on record. When the Spanish attack did create an opening, Cape Verde’s goalkeeper Vozinha stood firm, making seven saves: the only goalkeeper aged 40-plus to make more saves in a World Cup game on record is Pat Jennings, who made 10 on his 41st birthday for Northern Ireland against Brazil in 1986.Vozinha also took a leaf out of Iker Casillas’s book in letting the tears flow after his heroics. “I cried because I grew up with my grandparents and unfortunately they were not here; they died a few years ago,” he sobbed. “They were everything for me, for my life. I also cried because my mum didn’t manage to be here because of the visa. Because of the money we had to pay for the visa [a returnable bond of up to $15,000 before travelling to the US], we didn’t manage to [get it done] on time. I would like her to be here, but I’m also very happy. I have worked my whole life for this moment. I’m 40 years old. I started playing football professionally when I was 25, in 2012. I thought about leaving but I continued because of this dream. This is for everyone.”And everyone responded. Vozinha, who has spent his club career in Cape Verde, Angola, Moldova, Portugal, Cyprus and Slovakia, started the GWC with 50,000 followers on his Social Media Disgrace of choice and woke up on Tuesday morning to a following of more than six million, more than 13 times the population of his country. Football was a game created to spark joy from difficult situations, and that was no more present than during the Cape Verde celebrations inside the Atlanta Stadium. It seems that we have all now become fans of the tiny African nation – whisper it, but it is moments like this that suggest the 48-team tournament wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Just don’t tell Gianni.LIVE ON BIG WEBSITEJoin Daniel Harris for live updates of France 3-1 Senegal from 8pm BST (3pm EDT), while Bryan Armen Graham will be all over Iraq 1-2 Norway from 11pm BST (7pm EDT). Later on, Jonathan Howcroft is in the chair for coverage of Argentina 1-0 Algeria from 2am BST (9pm EDT), with Martin Pegan at the controls for Austria 0-0 Jordan in the 5am BST (12am EDT) slot.ON THE BALLBig Website’s app now features a special edition of On the Ball for the GWC. On the Ball: World Stage invites you to guess the World Cup player in five attempts – and it’s pretty tricky. You can have a go right now – and there are loads of other good puzzles to take up your time, too.QUOTE OF THE DAY“It has really felt a bit like being on the Truman Show. I forget at times that we’re here. I’m watching a game for minutes and then I look over at Kevin and I see people on top of me. It’s like: ‘Oh my God!’ There’s 30 people watching us, watching games, most of the time. It is a weird experience” – Austin Franklin explains what it is like to be sat in a glass box in Times Square with another fan, Kevin Kotoko, watching all 104 Geopolitics World Cup matches. Sounds gruelling but, hey, the $50,000 paycheck should help them to keep their beady eyes focused squarely on their TV screens.Nice work if you can get it. Photograph: FoxRECOMMENDED LOOKINGIt’s David Squires on … a thirst for adverts and other notes from the Geopolitics World Cup so far.Zing! Illustration: David Squires/The GuardianFOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS