By Tyler Lai Sai
On June 15, Spain and Cape Verde played in a nail-biting World Cup 2026 match which resulted in a 0-0 draw – mainly thanks to the goalkeeping heroics of a player called Vozinha.
Vozinha’s performance in keeping Spain’s attacking talents at bay gained major attention from viewers as he blocked all of their 27 attempted shots.
His performance stunned viewers across the globe.
Spain vs Cape Verde
Cape Verde, a small country off the coast of Africa with a population of 500 000.
They were up against Spain, one of the top national teams in the world and the 2010 World Cup champions.
This was Cape Verde’s World Cup debut.
Despite what appeared to be a baptism of fire for Cape Verde, the team performed relatively well against Spain.
Who is Vozinha?
Josmiar Dias, more well-known as Vozinha, was crowned the man of the match.
Vozinha was born in Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde.
His football career started out at a local club, Batuque Futebol Clube, where he played for them until 2011.
In 2012, he signed with Progresso do Sambizanga, an Angolan football club based in Luanda.
Vozinha had made his football debut for the Cape Verde international team in September 2012, in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification playoff.
Throughout his professional career, Vozinha has joined a variety of different leagues before making his World Cup debut.
This includes the Gil Vicente Club, Cypriot First Division and Slovak First League.
He is now a goalkeeper for Chaves in Portugal for their second-tier football team.
In just two days, he went from having 50k followers to 11 million followers on Instagram following the team’s match against Spain.
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Where does the name Vozinha come from?
The name Vozinha means ‘little grandmother’ in Portuguese.
The nickname was given to him by peers as he was raised by his grandparents growing up.
When Vozinha arrived in Angola to play for Progresso do Sambizanga, there was another goalkeeper called Josimar.
He refused to have Josimar II on his jersey and opted for his name that was used back home in Cape Verde.
Vozinha’s emotional moment
In an interview, Vozinha stated that at the end of the match he felt emotional and teared up due to his family being unable to witness the team’s performance.
Vozinha’s mother could not attend the match for the team’s debut as there were ongoing problems with her visa.
Vozinha’s grandparents, who continuously supported his career, passed away a couple years ago.
This match had marked a significant milestone in his career, and he was saddened that he could not share it with loved ones.
A true winner
Many viewers of the match stated that although no one scored, the match still had a clear winner.
At the age of 40, he is now known as the oldest goalkeeper in history to keep a clean sheet in a team’s World Cup debut.
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