Vozinha announced himself to the world with a masterclass in goalkeeping as debutants Cape Verde stunned Spain in a 0-0 draw at the FIFA World Cup.

Cape Verde hero Vozinha made history in the Group H opener on Tuesday (AEST), becoming the oldest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet on his World Cup debut, making seven saves against reigning European champions Spain.

The 40-year-old is the oldest player to make an appearance in a nation’s debut World Cup game – breaking the record set on Sunday by Eloy Room for Curacao (37 years and 182 days old), while only Egypt’s Essam El Hadary (45 years and 161 days old) has been older when making his World Cup debut than the shot-stopper.

After his man-of-the-match exploits, Vozinha was visibly emotional while going viral on social media as his Instagram follower account ballooned from 20,000 before the match to 2million.

“This is a message of thank you to everybody in Cap Verde,” Vozinha told reporters. “We are very happy after this, this group of players have worked a lot to live this moment. It’s a day to be proud and satisfied.

“I cried after the game because I grew up with my grandparents when I was a kid, and they could not be there. They passed away a few years ago. My mum could not be here either for a visa issue, and the money we had to pay for it. We did not manage to do this in time.”

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Vozinha plays for Portuguese second division side Chaves, while Cape Verde were appearing on the global stage for the first time in their history.

Sixty-five places separated Spain (second) and Cape Verde (67th) in the FIFA world rankings before they met – it’s the biggest ever gap in a World Cup game that didn’t end in the higher-ranked side winning, per Opta.

“I am so proud about being man of the match,” Vozinha said. “For me it’s an honour to represent the country I love. We are from a very small place, and our qualification path was very difficult too. Today, our dream came true by competing against a team like Spain. I am very proud of all the people involved in that process.

“We work in life to have moments like this. I am 40 now but I was not a professional up until I was 25. This is a reward for all this journey.

“I would tell 18-year-old Vozinha to be really proud of himself. He worked a lot. To be honest I never dreamt of stuff like this when I was a kid, but after this game I can tell my younger version that it was all worth it.”

Next up for Cape Verde is a clash with Uruguay on June 22.