‘Carried a country single-handedly’: World all-praise for Josimar Dias after Cape Verde’s historic draw against Spain

Cape Verde goalkeeper Josimar Dias, known as Vozinha, became the talk of the football world after producing a remarkable display against Spain in his country’s first-ever FIFA World Cup match on Monday.

Spain registered 27 shots in 90 minutes but failed to breach a resilient Cape Verdean defence that earned the 67th-ranked nation a historic first point in Group H.

The defining moment came late in the first half when Spain’s Marc Cucurella got behind the Cape Verde defence and headed the ball back to Ferran Torres, who had a clear shot on goal. Vozinha dove straight at the ball, altering Torres’ shot so that it struck the crossbar.

While the ball was still in the air, Vozinha was on the ground facing the wrong way with a teammate on top of him. He managed to leap to his feet, flip around and tip a screamer from Mikel Oyarzabal just over the bar.

He finished the match with seven saves. As noted by experts, at 40 years old, he became the oldest goalkeeper in tournament history to keep a clean sheet in his FIFA World Cup debut.

The reaction online was instant. “Man of the Match Vozinha,” wrote one user, while another simply posted “NOT TODAY 💪🏾.”

Others called him a “wall of stone” and said he had “carried his country single-handedly”. One fan summed it up with “bro was in some mood today”.

“I have worked my whole life for this moment. I’m 40 years old. I started playing football professionally when I was 25, in 2012. I thought about leaving but I continued because of this dream. This is for everyone. I was named man of the match but this is for all of my teammates because without them nothing would be possible,” Vozinha said after the match.

He was in tears after the final whistle. “I cried because I grew up with my grandparents and, unfortunately, they were not here; they died a few years before, and they did everything for me and my life,” Vozinha revealed.

“Also, my mum, she didn’t manage to be here because of the visa. The money for the visa, we didn’t manage on time, and I would like her to be here,” he added.

Before the match, Vozinha had around 50,000 Instagram followers. By the end of the day, that number had climbed to 5.3 million.

He is the second-most capped player in Cape Verde history with 89 appearances, trailing only teammate Ryan Mendes.

Cape Verde next face Uruguay in Group H.