Pires becomes the first Veikkausliiga player selected for a World Cup since Abdallah El Said of KuPS represented another African nation, Egypt, at the 2018 edition in Russia.
First called up for Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in 2019, Pires didn't make his international debut for Cape Verde until September 2021, when The Blue Sharks lost a 2022 World Cup qualifier to Nigeria, then featured in a friendly win over Liechtenstein in 2022.
Despite not playing in any of Cape Verde's qualifiers for this summer's tournament, Pires forced himself back into coach Bubista's thinking at the perfect time - he featured in a friendly against Egypt last November before winning his fourth cap and scoring his first international goal in the FIFA Series in March against none other than Finland.
That was enough for the 26-year-old to earn himself a place in a 26-man squad that features players who ply their domestic trade in 14 different countries, including the USA, UAE, Ireland, Bulgaria, Portugal and Israel.
Pires will be hoping to get a few more international minutes under his belt when Cape Verde meet Serbia in a pre-tournament friendly in Lisbon, Portugal, before they travel to the United States.
Cape Verde will make their World Cup debut on 15th June against Spain in Atlanta, then face Uruguay in Miami on 21st June (00:00 CEST on 22nd June) before completing a tough set of Group H fixtures against Saudi Arabia on 26th June (02:00 CEST on 27th June) in Houston.
Beginning his career with Cape Verdean club Batuque, Pires moved to SJK from AS Trencin in Slovakia, initially on loan in 2024 before making the move permanent a year ago. He missed the opening game of the 2026 season due to his international commitments, but has since not missed a minute of league action for the Seinajoki side, scoring against Mariehamn last month.
He will therefore be a big loss for the side sat 10th in the Veikkausliiga, who will be without Pires for at least five league matches.
