Cape Verde goalkeeper, Vozinha, has etched himself in the history of the World Cup following a feat pulled during his side’s 0-0 draw in their opening game of the ongoing 2026 edition of the competition.
Vozinha helped Cape Verde get the clean sheet against the European powerhouse, making seven saves with 1.46 the Group H encounter, and at 40 years of age, he has now become the oldest make a clean sheet in a debut match at the mundial soccer competition.
Alongside the memento and pride, Vozinha, who was declared Man of the Match, claimed a new-found fame from the upset after pundits on Brazilian channel Caze TV urged viewers to boost him to 100,000 Instagram followers at half time.
Fans obliged as Vozinha climbed to 220,000 within a minute. By full time, his follower count had hit a staggering 1.8 million. He had just 50,000 followers before kick-off.
During the match, Spain dominated the ball, the territory and the shot count, yet the score stayed frozen at 0-0 against Cabo Verde in FIFA World Cup Group H. The crowd of 67,640 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday watched a siege that never became a breakthrough, with Spain firing 27 shots and building 2.16 xG to Cabo Verde’s 0.30, the latter, setting up in a compact 4-1-4-1, defended deep and cleared everything that came their way. Spain’s 4-3-3 flowed through midfield and wide areas, but the finishing touch would not arrive.
Referee Adham Mohammad kept a steady grip on a match that needed only two cautions. Pedri saw yellow for a foul at 90+3, after Cabo Verde’s Sidny Lopes Cabral was booked early at 16. The five minutes of second-half stoppage time felt like five extra rounds for the island nation’s back line and goalkeeper. In the end, the numbers underline Spain’s control, and also why this ended level.