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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.
In his last game for the club before leaving Stateside, he received a warm send-off from his native suburb of Crumlin and Rovers fans.
There were plenty of Cape Verde flags in the crowd in Tallaght that night in late May and Grace believes everyone around the league and the country as a whole will be keen to get behind one of their own.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s everyone’s dream to play for your country at the World Cup. Pico was born and raised in Ireland but his father is from Cape Verde and he has a lot of family there so I’m sure he’s very proud to represent them,” added Grace.
“I think the whole League of Ireland will be behind Pico. He’s representing the League first and foremost and Ireland as a country. You can see the support he’s already getting.
“The last game before he left, he was brought on at half-time, there were lots of Cape Verde flags and Pico was sent off by the fans. I don’t think only the Shamrock Rovers fans will be behind him, it’s an Irish connection and something to shout about on the biggest stage.”
Grace has to adjust her sleep schedule to watch some of Cape Verde’s group stage games.
They begin 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 ok, the next one is at 10pm and one in the morning so I’ll definitely watch at 5pm and 10am and see if I’m still awake for the 1am game!
“No matter what happens, win, lose or draw, he’s playing on the biggest stage and living the dream.”
