Pico Lopes’ Africa Cup of Nations adventure will go on for at least another week as Cape Verde secured qualification for the last 16.
The Shamrock Rovers defender will be charged with keeping Liverpool striker Sadio Mané quiet next Tuesday after results elsewhere went their way on Wednesday night.
Lopes was named man of the match on Monday as a second-half Garry Rodrigues strike secured a draw with hosts Cameroon and progression as one of the four best third-placed teams for the Blue Sharks.
And they will now face Senegal as Guinea-Bissau’s failure to beat Nigeria on Wednesday night ensured, thanks to goals from Umar Sadiq and William Troost-Ekong, means they will not progress.
With the Group D side out of contention, that means Cape Verde can only face Senegal, who also boast Watford’s Ismaila Sarr in their star-studded forward line.
The sides have met as recently as March, when goals from Paris Saint-Germain’s Idrissa Gueye and Mané saw the Lions of Téranga to a 2-0 win in Thiés.
29-year-old Lopes was on the bench that day as Cape Verde coach Bubito assessed his options but had the opportunity to watch him close up.
He had been hoping to lock horns with Egypt’s Mo Salah at some point but, for now at least, will have to make do with his Liverpool strike partner.
The uninspiring Egyptians made it through as Group D runners-up as Mohamed Abdelmonem saw them beat Sudan 1-0 in Yaoundé, leaving them on the other side of the draw to the Blue Sharks.
“Salah. I'd love to lock horns with Salah,” the Crumlin man told Dublin Live from the Cape Verde camp ahead of the tournament.
“If I can catch him and keep him contained for a couple of seconds, I'd like to lock horns with him.
“He's probably one of the best players in the world right now, and you want to test yourself against the best and see what makes them different."
