Has Pico Lopes changed how we should view League of Ireland players?
Watching Pico Lopes at the World Cup has genuinely made me question whether we massively undervalue League of Ireland players when it comes to the Ireland squad.
He’s spent the majority of his career in the League of Ireland, yet he played every single minute of Cape Verde’s World Cup campaign and looked completely comfortable against some of the best players in the world.
I’m not saying every top LOI player should automatically be in the Ireland squad, and Pico is clearly an exceptional player. But surely pico has showen we should be considering these guys more and try not hold a bias against the league.
It often feels like we’ll favour players who are barely getting minutes in England over players consistently performing at a high level in the LOI.
Has Pico’s World Cup changed your view on whether League of Ireland players deserve greater consideration for Ireland, or is he the exception ?
Went around in circles with the lads over a few pints on this last night, most people just felt this was exceptional circumstances and shouldn’t change anything.. I didn’t agree!