If you ever questioned the power and popularity of soccer as the world’s game, the story of Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha should put all doubts to rest.
The 40-year-old goalkeeper was the unlikeliest of World Cup cult heroes with a remarkable performance that led the tiny island nation to a heroic 0-0 draw with Spain in their matchup in Atlanta. In a game that was supposed to resemble Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of Curacao, Spain was widely expected to score a ton of goals against the World Cup debutants who qualified out of Africa.
However, Vozinha made seven saves, and the Cape Verde defense improbably held one of the pre-tournament favorites scoreless in one of the most iconic underdog results in World Cup history.
LOOK WHAT IT MEANS TO CAPE VERDE! 🇨🇻
40-year-old Vozinha and his teammates were emotional after stunning European giants Spain in a goalless draw pic.twitter.com/tyFAwkFOg7
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 15, 2026
His story is incredible. As a professional, Vozinha has played domestically in Cape Verde and in countries like Angola, Slovakia, Cyprus, and Moldova. Currently, he plays in Portugal’s second league for Chaves.
However, due to his performance against Spain, a player whom the vast, vast majority of even dedicated soccer fans had never heard of became a global sensation overnight.
After he was named Man of the Match, Vozinha’s Instagram following jumped from 50,000 followers to over 1.5 million. Now, on the day after the game, it has ballooned to 7.3 million followers and is still climbing.
To put this number in perspective, Vozinha’s current following dwarfs that of the current NBA Finals MVP, Jalen Brunson, who has 1.6 million followers. He has even surpassed multiple-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, who sits at 6.5 million followers.
Vozinha still has a way to go before catching up to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who each have over 500 million followers on the social media platform. But if Cape Verde can earn a draw with Spain, perhaps anything is possible.
About Matt Yoder