{"id":7528,"date":"2026-07-15T11:04:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7528"},"modified":"2026-07-15T11:04:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:04:07","slug":"world-cup-star-lopes-returns-to-champions-league-action-captaining-shamrock-rovers-to-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7528","title":{"rendered":"World Cup star Lopes returns to Champions League action captaining Shamrock Rovers to win"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Argentina\u2019s Alexis Mac Allister (20) and Cape Verde\u2019s Pico Lopes (4) compete for the ball during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Argentina and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Chris Carlson)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

DUBLIN \u2014 World Cup<\/a> star Roberto \u2018Pico\u2019 Lopes returned to action in the Champions League on Tuesday and captained Shamrock Rovers into the second qualifying round.<\/p>

Read more Trump administration scales back immigration crackdown after ICE shootings<\/a><\/p>\n

Just 11 days after facing Lionel Messi and Argentina in an epic World Cup round-of-32 game<\/a> , Cape Verde defender Lopes led the Dublin club to a 5-1 second-leg win over Maltese champion Floriana.<\/p>\n

Rovers advanced 5-3 on aggregate score and will now travel to face Ararat-Armenia next week. Rovers must advance through four qualifying rounds to enter the lucrative 36-team main phase starting in September.<\/p>\n

The second qualifying round will see former European Cup winner Red Star Belgrade enter the competition against Larne, the champion of Northern Ireland. Larne advanced Tuesday beating Tre Fiori of San Marino 2-1 for a 3-1 aggregate score.<\/p>

Read more Todd Blanche faces Capitol Hill grilling in bid to become attorney general<\/a><\/p>\n

Vikingur of Iceland got a 2-2 draw in Hungary against Gy\u0151ri ETO to advance 3-2 on aggregate and will face Hapoel Beer-Sheva in the next round.<\/p>\n

Vikingur could have to return to Hungary for the second leg on July 28 or 29. Israeli clubs cannot host their home games in UEFA competitions for security reasons, and Hapoel Beer-Sheva chose stadiums in Hungary as a neutral venue in European qualifying matches last season.<\/p>

Read more Trump\u2019s economic messaging puts Republicans in a rhetorical bind<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World Cup star Roberto \u2018Pico\u2019 Lopes has returned to action in the Champions League and captained Shamrock Rovers into the second qualifying round<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld Cup star Lopes returns to Champions League action captaining Shamrock Rovers to win - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7528\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Cup star Lopes returns to Champions League action captaining Shamrock Rovers to win - 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