40-year-old goalkeeper becomes Cape Verde’s FIFA world cup hero

Football is not always just about goals and trophies. Sometimes, it gives us stories of struggle, sacrifice and dreams coming true. Cape Verde goalkeeper Josimar José Evora Dias, better known as ‘Vozinha’, gave the world one such story during the FIFA world cup.

The 40-year-old goalkeeper became the star of Cape Verde’s historic match against Spain, making seven crucial saves and helping his team pull off one of the biggest results in the country’s football history. His performance earned him the Player of the Match award.

But after the match, it was his emotional interview that touched people around the world. Fighting back tears, Vozinha revealed that his mother could not travel to watch him play because the family could not arrange the money needed for her visa fee in time. Although her tickets had already been booked and everything was ready, she was unable to make the trip.

Vozinha also remembered his grandparents, who raised him during his childhood and passed away a few years ago. His nickname, ‘Vozinha’, which means ‘grandmother’ in the local Creole language, reflects the close bond he shared with his grandmother.

Just a week before the World Cup began, Vozinha celebrated his 40th birthday and became the oldest player to make his World Cup debut. There was a time when he had even thought about retiring after struggling to secure a place in the national team. However, his teammates convinced him to continue.

His heroics against Spain turned him into an overnight sensation. Local media reported that his Instagram followers surged from around 50,000 to more than 1.5 million within an hour of the match. The growth continued rapidly, and his account has now crossed 6.8 million followers.

Cape Verde, a small island nation off the coast of West Africa with a population of just over 529,000, is one of the smallest countries to play in the World Cup. The team’s rise has been credited to careful planning led by former Portuguese footballer Rui Costa, who helped bring together Cape Verdean players from clubs across different countries.