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.
He received a warm send-off from his native suburb of Crumlin and from Rovers fans in his last game for the club before jetting off stateside.
There were plenty of Cape Verde flags in the crowd in Tallaght on that night at the end of May and Grace believes everyone around the league and in the country as a whole will be keen to get behind one of their own.
“It’s unbelievable. That’s everyone’s dream to play for your country at the World Cup. Pico was born and raised in Ireland but his dad is from Cape Verde and he has a load of family out there so I’m sure he’s very proud to represent them,” Grace added.
“I think that the whole of the League of Ireland will get behind Pico. He’s representing this league first and foremost and Ireland as a country. You can see the support he’s getting already.
“The last game before he left, he was brought out onto the pitch at half-time, there was a lot of Cape Verde flags there and Pico got a send-off by the fans. I don’t think only Shamrock Rovers fans will be behind him, it’s the Irish connection and something to shout for on the biggest stage.”
Grace will have to adjust his sleep schedule to watch some of Cape Verde’s group stage games.
They start 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 fine, the next are at 10pm and one in the morning so I’ll definitely watch the 5pm and 10pm and see if I’m still awake for the 1am game!
“Whatever happens, win, lose or draw he’s playing on the biggest stage and living out a dream.”
