From his hometown of Sao Vicente in Cape Verde, Vozinha has been his jersey identify all through his membership profession.
Printed On 16 Jun 2026
Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha broke down in tears on the finish of the 0-0 draw with Spain after the 40-year-old was mobbed by his teammates following a surprising show as he denied the European champions victory of their World Cup opener.
Cape Verde have been pinned again in their very own half for a lot of Monday’s sport, however every time Spain broke by means of their dogged rearguard, Vozinha got here to the rescue.
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His heroics earned him the participant of the match, pulling off a string of saves on the finish of the primary half to disclaim Ferran Torres, Pedri and Aymeric Laporte.
Right here’s every little thing we all know in regards to the Cape Verde goalkeeper:
The place does Vozinha play?
Vozinha goalkeeps for Chaves in Portugal’s second-tier soccer league.
The World Cup is by far the most important stage he has reached, however Vozinha started his membership profession at residence with Batuque FC, earlier than transferring to CS Mindelense.
The veteran participant’s expertise comes from the myriad golf equipment he has represented – from Progresso in Angola to Zimbru Chisinau in Moldova, Gil Vicente in Portugal, AEL Limassol in Cyprus and AS Trencin in Slovakia, earlier than arriving at Chaves.
Is Vozinha his actual identify?
No, Vozinha is a moniker for Josimar Jose Evora Dias. It got here from his grandparents, whom he spent most of his time with as his father was within the army and his mom was working. The identify checks out, because it means “little granny” in Portuguese.
From his hometown of Sao Vicente in Cape Verde, Vozinha has been his jersey identify all through the nomadic membership pilgrimage throughout Africa and Europe.
“Once I arrived in Angola, there was one other goalkeeper named Josimar, and I mentioned, ‘I’m not going to place Josimar II on the shirt’. If everybody knew me as Vozinha in Cape Verde, that’s what I’d be,” he informed FIFA in an interview earlier this 12 months.
What did Vozinha say after the match?
The Cape Verde keeper was decreased to tears by his heroics and fairytale World Cup debut.
“Very proud… It’s an honour for me to signify my nation,” Vozinha informed reporters of his island nation, the third smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup.
“I cried as a result of I grew up with my grandparents and, sadly, they weren’t right here; they died just a few years earlier than, they usually did every little thing for me and my life,” he added.
“Additionally, my mum, she didn’t handle to be right here due to the visa. The cash for the visa, we didn’t handle on time, and I would really like her to be right here.”
Is Vozinha world-famous now?
Sure, on all counts.
The goalkeeper’s Instagram following jumped from a modest 500,000 to just about 5 million inside just a few hours of full-time within the Spain match.
His quiet brilliance was spotlighted on the world’s greatest stage for all to see.
French soccer star Paul Pogba took to social media after the match in reward of Vozinha.
“The Cape Verde goalkeeper is absolutely one thing, waaaaw,” he wrote.
