Goalkeeper Josimar José Évora Dias otherwise called Vozinha has become an overnight sensation in the football community thanks to his heroic performance at the Atalanta Stadium on Monday as debutants Cape Verde held European champions Spain to a goalless draw in their Group H 2026 FIFA World Cup tie. 

The 40-year-old made seven crucial saves in the game, especially close attempts by Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres and Aymeric Laporte to keep the match at bay at halftime. He maintained the same momentum in the second half to help the 500,000-population in the West African Island country to earn their first World Cup attempt. 

His performance in the encounter did not go unnoticed by football fans worldwide, as he quickly became a fan favourite. This surge in popularity was reflected in a dramatic social media boost, with his Instagram following rising from 50,000 before the World Cup to seven million at the time of reporting.

Vozinha became emotional on the pitch after the full-time whistle, with his teammates seen embracing him afterwards. He later said in an interview that he cried because he grew up with grandparents as a child but they weren’t able to watch him play at the biggest stage following their passing a few years ago. 

He also disclosed that his mother was not able to travel to the United States of America due to President Donald Trump’s visa restrictions on dozens of countries, including Cape Verde, mandating that passport holders from the affected nations must deposit up to 15,000 to be granted U.S. visas as a guarantee of their intention to return. 

“This is a message of thank you to everybody in Cape Verde. 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,” Vozinha said. 

Vozinha, who said that he did not become a professional goalkeeper until he was 25 years old, began his career with Batuque FC in 2007 before joining CS Mindelense. 

He then went on to play for several for several clubs in Africa and Europe, including Progresso do Sambizanga in Angola, FC Zimbru Chișinău (Moldova), Gil Vicente F.C (Portugal), AEL Limassol (Cyprus), AS Trenčín (Slovakia) and G.D. Chaves, where he currently plays. 

“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,” Vozinha stated. 

According to Opta, at 40 years and 12 days old, Vozinha became the oldest player to appear in a nation’s World Cup debut, surpassing the record set just a day earlier by Eloy Room, who was 37 years and 182 days old when he featured for Curacao.

“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.”