Meet the Man Behind the Gloves
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.
A Star is Born
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.
The Name Behind the Legend
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.
"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.
Breaking Records and Making History
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.
A Global Sensation
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.
