Going into the 2026 World Cup, Vozinha had no club, no contract, and 50,000 Instagram followers. He is leaving it with 25 million followers, Lionel Messi's shirt, and a place in World Cup folklore.
The Cape Verde goalkeeper, whose real name is Josimar Jose Evora Dias, was a free agent after leaving Portuguese second-tier side Chaves before the tournament. He is 40 years old and has been playing for his country since 2012, earning 94 caps along the way. But outside of Cape Verde, almost nobody knew who he was.
That changed quickly.
Cape Verde drew with Spain in their opening group stage match, and Vozinha's performance between the posts was a large reason why. Millions of football fans who had never heard of him suddenly had a name to put to the face. His follower count jumped to eight million after that game alone, and to 14 million the following day.
Then came Argentina.
Eight saves. Four denied Messi.
In their round of 32 tie at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Cape Verde faced the defending world champions. On paper, it was a mismatch. On the pitch, it was one of the matches of the tournament.
Vozinha made eight saves in total, four of them denying Messi. One came in the 73rd minute, when Messi caught nearly everyone off guard with a free kick that was struck perfectly. Vozinha still got a hand to it. Another stop came deep in stoppage time, helping send the game to extra time.
Argentina eventually won 3-2 in extra time, scoring twice in the additional period to end Cape Verde's run. But it was widely acknowledged that without Vozinha, the scoreline would have looked very different.
After the final whistle, his follower count crossed 18 million. By the following day, it had reached 25 million.
What Messi said to him after the match
After the game, Vozinha made his way over to Messi. What followed was a moment he said he will carry with him for the rest of his life.
"I went up to Messi after the game. He hugged me and said, 'You are great. Your people should be proud of you,'" Vozinha recalled, as reported by La Tercera and quoted by Goal.com. "That was incredible for me. Hearing words like that from someone like Leo Messi means a lot to me."
Vozinha also asked Messi for his shirt. Messi agreed, telling him he would hand it over in the tunnel after his post-match media commitments.
A story Cape Verde will not forget
Cape Verde's run at this World Cup was their first appearance in the knockout stages of the tournament. They pushed the world champions to extra time and left the pitch with their heads high.
For Vozinha, though, the story is only beginning. At 40, with no club and a fraction of the recognition he deserved heading into the tournament, he leaves it as one of the most talked-about players of the entire World Cup.
Quite where he plays next is unclear. But his life, by any measure, is not what it was three weeks ago.
