MO WON’T SCARE MY BIG MATE
The Liverpool attacker will go up against the Shamrock Rovers centreback when Egypt face Cape Verde in their final Africa Cup of Nations group game on Monday.
But Lopes’ clubmates at Rovers are backing the 31-year-old to keep the prolific Reds star under wraps as they look to reach the knockout rounds.
“It’s incredible isn’t it?,” said Hoops midfielder Richie Towell of the mouthwatering matchup in the Ivory Coast.
“You see Salah every weekend for Liverpool, tearing up players and he’s coming up against Pico now.
“But I’ve no doubt Pico will be able to hold his own against him. He would be well able for it.”
Lopes also played at the 2021 AFCON finals (staged in 2022) and came up against Salah’s former partner in crime at Liverpool, Sadio Mane.
It was a Last 16 clash between Senegal and Cape Verde but Mane had the last laugh, scoring in a 2-0 win.
It was a bittersweet clash for Lopes as he made a number of brilliant first-half tackles to keep Mane at bay.
But the Rovers star was struggling with food poisoning that day and vomited at half-time and had to be replaced before the second-half, with Mane then opening the scoring on the hour.
While his immediate focus is on Mozambique this afternoon, Lopes has one eye on Salah on Monday night and Towell insists he won’t be fazed by the challenge.
“Pico is a top defender, not just with his physical attributes but his mental attributes as well and I think he will relish a challenge like that and stand up to it,” he said.
Lopes was celebrating last Sunday when Cape Verde opened their AFCON account with a stunning 92nd minute winner that floored Chris Hughton’s Ghana 2-1.
And Crumlin lad Lopes
who qualifies
Towell says Lopes can handle the danger posed by Salah
through his Cape Verde-born father – is back in action today when the island nation face Mozambique in their second group game.
Towell said: “I was talking to Pico the day he played against Ghana, a great result. I watched the game and they were actually better than Ghana.
“My wife was asking me if I was going to put something on the telly and I was like ‘no, Pico’s playing’ and she was like ‘more football’ she thought it was all over!
“It was great to see him playing really well in the game, he was brilliant.
“More possession, more shots on target, I know Ghana were missing a few of their better players but I thought they played really well.
“It’s great to see Pico flying the flag for us, not just as a club, Shamrock Rovers, but for the League of Ireland as well.”