A week ago, Cape Verde drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia to seal an unlikely place in the World Cup’s knockout rounds, where they will play Argentina and Lionel Messi on Friday.Ryan Mendes captained his country that day, winning his 100th cap in the process, another milestone for a player who was already Cape Verde’s record goalscorer.It was another remarkable moment in this World Cup’s biggest underdog story, but the following day, events took a darker turn. It emerged, initially in reports from Brazilian newspaper Globo, that Mendes is facing allegations of rape.The 36-year-old is being investigated over an alleged incident in New Zealand in March. Cape Verde were there to play in the FIFA Series, a mini-tournament designed to help them prepare for the World Cup. They played two games, against Chile and Finland. Mendes captained the team in both.He has been accused of attacking a Brazilian woman who had been hired to work with the Cape Verde delegation as a translator during their time in Auckland.After the New Zealand Herald revealed in May that an unnamed Cape Verde player was being investigated, local police confirmed to The Athletic that it was looking into the matter. After Mendes’ name was made public, the police in New Zealand confirmed to The Athletic that the probe remains ongoing.Ryan Mendes trains with Cape Verde before their game with Argentina on Friday (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)Mendes has not been charged. The Cape Verde team did not respond to a request for comment, and neither did Mendes’ representative.On Thursday, before their press conference for the Argentina match in Miami, Cape Verde’s press officer said that the coach, Pedro Leitao Brito, would not be answering questions about Mendes. When The Athletic attempted to ask him about the player, Brito did not answer, and the press officer reiterated that he would only be taking questions relating to the match. When another reporter attempted to ask about Mendes’ state of mind, he, too, was shut down.At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether Mendes will face the world champions, although he trained as normal with his teammates on Thursday.According to a statement issued by the woman’s Brazilian law firm to The Athletic, she was contracted by New Zealand Football, the game’s national governing body there and organiser of those March matches in Auckland.The statement says she attended a “festive” event at the Cape Verdeans’ hotel alongside the players, including Mendes. After going back to her room, the statement says that Mendes knocked on her door and entered when she opened it.The statement claims Mendes tried to kiss her and that, when she resisted, she was assaulted with “strangulation, punches and bites”. After that, it says she was raped.The legal statement includes photos of the injuries, which the translator says she took. These images were included in the statement seen by The Athletic, and have been widely circulated on social media.When her work was completed, the statement says that she returned home to her family. She says she reported the incident to local police, and attended an adult sexual assault clinic, where she was examined on April 1.