00:02The 2026 World Cup isn't just about football, it's about the players wearing the jerseys and their stories.
00:08One of them is Cape Verde's Volhynia. He's 40 years old. 40.
00:13But one thing people don't know about him back home is he's a volleyball coach.
00:18Those cat-like reflexes come from, you know, saving volleyball and teaching kids how to play volleyball.
00:24And now he's making waves at the World Cup.
00:27Those saves aren't just magic, they are decades of sport, hard work and coaching and working with children.
00:33Now, he's so famous people are asking will he ever even return to what he used to do?
00:37But I think he should. That's where his heart is.
00:40Roberto Pico Lopez was born and raised in Dublin.
00:43A regular guy, mortgage advisor by day and footballer on the weekends.
00:48Then one day on LinkedIn he gets a message.
00:50Doesn't understand it because he's in Portuguese. He doesn't speak it.
00:54Ignores it. Thinks it's spam. Doesn't mind it for a while.
00:57I think nine months go by.
00:59Puts it through Google Translate.
01:01Turns out it's Cape Verde's team calling him up for the national team for the World Cup.
01:06I wouldn't have done it. I mean, I wouldn't have read Portuguese.
01:08But smart on him making, you know, translating it on Google Translate.
01:12Fast forward now, he's at the World Cup.
01:13Center back. Shirt tucked in. No nonsense. Commanding in the defense.
01:18From mortgage advisor to the World Cup.
01:20But LinkedIn does get you pretty good jobs.
01:23When people see Japan's Hiroki Ito, people will notice the white patch above his eyebrow.
01:29It's vitiligo. A skin condition that affects pigmentation.
01:32Harmless, just striking.
01:35And people notice it.
01:36But here's what else you should also notice from this player.
01:39His passes. His composure. His laser focus.
01:43Never be fooled by appearances because it's just appearances.
01:46This guy is elite.
01:48This one's a good story.
01:50Six years ago in 2020, Raul Jimenez fractured his skull.
01:53And during that surgery, surgeons put a metal plate in his head.
01:56Out of the game for eight months.
01:58Career in doubt. Life honestly in balance.
02:00He came back to the game wearing a protective headband.
02:03And now in this World Cup, he scored in Mexico's opening game.
02:06After that, he said something that I think everyone should hear.
02:08I almost lost everything. Even my life.
02:11So I'm trying to enjoy football as much as I can.
02:14So I think to me, that goal, it wasn't just a goal.
02:17It was survival on a football pitch.
02:20Iraq's Ayman Hussain grew up carrying wounds that, honestly, many of us will never understand.
02:24His father was an army officer and was murdered by Al Qaeda in 2008.
02:29His brother was taken by ISIS.
02:31And until now, he's never been found.
02:33And yet, his mother looked at him and said, keep playing.
02:36And that's what he did. He kept playing.
02:39And now he's at the World Cup, representing a country that has known so much pain.
02:43And to many, that's all they've ever known.
02:46Football may not fix everything.
02:48But sometimes, it's just enough to keep you going through.
02:51The World Cup isn't just a beautiful game.
02:53It's the most human game.
02:54Follow us for more stories that go beyond the scoreline.
03:06Now, of course, that you have to go beyond the scoreline.
03:07The Soul-Caption of August 1st, you have to go beyond the scoreline.
03:07However, it won't be too far on the number of achieve habits.
03:07It's just like this.
03:07The Soul-Caption of August 1st, you can get down the scoreline.
03:08So if you have the scoreline.
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