By Multimedia Producer Connor Parker
World Cup giants Spain were the heavy favourites to win their opening game, but they were stopped in their tracks by Cape Verde and their 40-year-old goalkeeper.
It was Josinar Dias’s (also known as Vozinha) first World Cup, and his heroic seven saves kept the game 0-0, despite Spain completely dominating the match.
Spain is ranked second in the world behind Argentina and is one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Cape Verde, a small island nation of the coast of West Africa with a population of under 500,000, is ranked 67th and is playing in the World Cup for the first time this year.
Draws are rarely celebrated in football, but for Cape Verde, not losing to Spain has been seen as a victory, and Vozinha has become an overnight celebrity.
Vozinha made seven saves during the game. Credit: AP
Who is Vozinha?
Vozinha began his career in 2011 playing for clubs in Cape Verde before being signed to teams in Angola, Moldova and Portugal.
He has played for his national team since 2012 and was called up to join the World Cup squad when they qualified for the tournament.
At 40 years and 12 days old, he is the oldest player to feature in a nation’s first World Cup match and the ninth oldest player to ever play in the tournament.
Spain dominated the match but they could not break Cape Verde’s defence. Credit: AP
The word “vozinha” is Portuguese for “little grandmother,” and the goalkeeper said he was given the nickname by older kids who would beat him on the soccer field and then laugh, saying he was going home to complain to his grandparents.
Years later, he took on the nickname after someone else in his club also had the same first name, Josimar.
Man of the match
After the match, Vozinha won the Superior Player of the Match Award for his performance.
Spain made 27 shots, with almost the entire game being played in Cape Verde’s half of the pitch.
Seven of those shots were on target, but expertly saved from hitting the back of the net by Vozinha.
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Even the late entrance of FC Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal could not break Vozinha or Cape Verde’s defence.
As the final whistle blew, Vozinha hunched over near his net and cried before being embraced by his teammates.
Vozinha said he was overcome by emotions thinking about his loved ones who were unable to see his finest performance: his grandparents who had raised him, and his mother.
His grandparents died a few years ago, and his mother had been unable to gather the money in time to secure a visa to enter the US.
Cape Verde is among 50 countries whose citizens face bonds of over £10,000 to secure a US visa, part of President Donald Trump’s broader crackdown on travellers from countries that officials said had high rates of visa overstays.
This was briefly suspended for Cape Verde and four other World Cup nations, but critics said the suspension came too late for fans.
“I work all my life for this, for this moment, for this dream,” Vozinha said. “A lot of generations in the past [dreamed of] this day, but they did not achieve it. And now the dream comes true.”
Overnight celebrity
It was not just match officials who noticed his performance. Brazilian YouTuber CazeTV launched a campaign after the game to get Vozinha to one million followers on Instagram to celebrate his performance.
Within hours, his follower count exploded from 50,000 to more than 2.4 million. As of Tuesday morning, he has 6.1 million followers.
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Soon after, he posted a picture of himself with his team, saying: “A dream come true! Representing Cape Verde on the biggest stage in world football is an indescribable honour. Words fail me… only pride, gratitude, and responsibility.”
He also made another post in which he called his rise in followers “loco” (crazy).
Cape Verde defender Steven Moreira said he and his teammates like to tease Vozinha about his age.
He said he was proud of the keeper, calling him a “big legend” who had a “crazy game” and showed that age doesn’t matter.
Defender Pico Lopes said: “He lives and breathes Cape Verde.
“He’s always on us to keep us on time. But that’s what he does. He pushes us to be better. And you saw it today, he leads by example.”
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