Meet Vozinha, The Cape Verde Goalkeeper Who Was The Hero In Near Argentina Upset

The name of the Cape Verde goalkeeper who saved eight shots against Lionel Messi’s Argentina squad is only one word, and it isn’t “Him,” although that might be more appropriate following his performance on Friday. Vozinha, whose real name is Josimar José Évora Dias, nearly spearheaded the greatest upset in the history of the World Cup as he made several highlight stops in Cape Verde’s 3-2 extra-time loss to Argentina in the round of 32. The 40-year-old had several leaping and diving saves, including a miraculous stop on Messi’s free kick in the 73rd minute. So, who is Vozinha, the surprise star of the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Here’s what to know about the Cape Verdean goalkeeper. Vozinha exited his first World Cup as one of the names that soccer fans will remember for a long time, thanks to his performances against Spain and Argentina. Vozinha opened Cape Verde’s World Cup journey by leading it to a 0-0 draw against Spain in its Group H opener. He had seven saves in that match, leading to one of the most surprising results in the history of the World Cup. After Cape Verde’s draw against Spain, Vozinha helped his squad get draws against Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. He didn’t get a save in his team’s 2-2 draw against Uruguay. However, he had three saves in Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia. That led to Friday’s memorable performance. While Vozinha allowed three goals, including one to Lionel Messi, he had eight stops. So, over the course of the tournament, Vozinha had 18 saves against 23 shots, giving him a .782 save percentage. His 18 saves were the third most of any goalkeeper in the tournament at the time of Cape Verde’s elimination. He also ensured that Cape Verde didn’t lose a single 90-minute match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. While Vozinha isn’t his real name, the Cape Verdean goalkeeper said he got the name at a young age thanks to his grandparents. In an interview with FIFA, Vozinha said that his grandparents opted to call him Vozinha as he was raised by them and not his parents. Vozinha said that his father was serving in the military and his mother had to work. However, the name Vozinha wound up sticking for a different reason. When he moved to Angola to play for Progresso, Vozinha had a decision to make with his name. “When I arrived in Angola, there was another goalkeeper named Josimar and I said I am not going to put Josimar II on the shirt — if everyone knew me as Vozinha in Cape Verde, that’s what I would be,” Vozinha told FIFA. Vozinha made plenty of history at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In terms of FIFA rankings, Cape Verde’s draw against Spain was the fourth-most surprising result in the history of the World Cup. Cape Verde entered the tournament ranked 67th and Spain entered the tournament ranked second. As for Vozinha, he became the third-oldest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a men’s World Cup match with his clean sheets against Spain and Saudi Arabia, after Peter Shilton (40 years, 281 days) and Dino Zoff (40 years, 130 days), per FOX Sports Research. In his seven-save performance against Spain, Vozinha became the oldest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in his World Cup debut and just the second goalkeeper aged 40 or older to make at least seven saves in a World Cup match since 1966, per OPTA. Vozinha has seen his social media following grow in a major way since the start of the World Cup. His followers on Instagram went from 50,000 to over five million in the hours after his clean sheet against Spain. Vozinha’s Instagram following has more than tripled that number since then. He’s now at 18.8 million followers on Instagram following Friday’s loss against Argentina, as of 9:30 p.m. ET. Vozinha had 90 international caps for Cape Verde prior to Monday’s match, beginning his senior international career in 2012. He recorded nine clean sheets for Cape Verde over the previous year before blanking Spain. He logged three clean sheets in five matches for Cape Verde in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Vozinha currently plays for Chaves in Liga Portugal 2, Portugal’s second division of soccer. He’s spent the bulk of his club career with Progresso (2012-15) and AEL Limassol (2017-22), though. Vozinha logged 116 caps during his time with AEL Limassol, a club in the Cypriot First Division.