The Cape Verdean goalie, known as “Vozinha” has proved that age is just a number by saving seven goals in a legendary performance against Spain, blocking every shot at the goal and becoming the oldest player to so in World Cup history.
The World Cup is a place where unlikely heroes are born, and in the case of Vozinha, whose real name is Josimar Dias, life will never be the same again. The Cape Verde goalkeeper saw his Instagram account rocket from 50,000 followers before the team’s opening round game against Spain, up to 11.5 million and counting, as of this writing. That’s because Dias has captured the world’s attention by proving that athletes can still break records after the age of 40.
The nickname, “Vozinha” was given to Dias by his grandparents as a child and roughly translates to “Little Granny” in Portuguese, but there’s nothing frail about the footballer who reached soccer’s biggest stage. Having played for teams in Angola, Moldova, Portugal, Cyprus, and Slovakia, Dias was already a decorated player, earning the second highest number of international appearances with the Cape Verde national team, which is also his birthplace.
Dias, who is 40 years of age and stands at 6-feet-2-inches tall, decided to use Vozinha as his professional name to separate himself from another goalkeeper called Josimar. “I said, ‘I am not going to put Josimar II on the shirt’,” he explained in a previous interview. “If everyone knew me as Vozinha in Cape Verde, that’s what I would be.”
Dias’ story of making World Cup history at 40 is a reminder that we can all still stirve to reach our potential. Indeed, personal records are not reserved for the young. Spain had been one of the tournament favorites, but left Atlanta with a 0-0 draw thanks to Vozinha’s seven saves. Cape Verde, one of the smallest nations competing in the 2026 World Cup, was able to secure their first-ever World Cup point thanks to the team’s epic efforts.
Commenting on the terrific turn of events the via Instagram, Vozinha said; “Dream come true! Representing Cape Verde on the world football’s biggest stage is an indescribable honour. Speechless… just pride, gratitude, and responsibility.”
Cape Verde’s next World Cup game is against Uruguay on June 21.
To follow Vozinha on Instagram, click here.
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