Hero of Cape Verde, Vozinha has more followers than Argentina

Goalkeeper Vozinha, from Cape Verde, became one of the great sensations of this World Cup. The 40-year-old archer made history by taking his team to the knockout stage for the first time and, due to his performances on the field and his life story, he gained millions of followers on Instagram, even surpassing the Argentine team.

After a brilliant performance in the first round of the World Cup, against Spain, when it was decisive in securing the draw, Vozinha jumped from 48 thousand followers to almost 1 million during the 90 minutes of the match. Just one day later, the goalkeeper had already surpassed the 10 million fan mark.

Currently, the African archer has 18.8 million followers on Instagram. The Argentina team, Cape Verde's tormentor this Friday (3), has 16 million followers on the platform, which represents a difference of almost 3 million in favor of the goalkeeper.

Who is Vozinha?
Outstanding member of the Cape Verde national team, Josimar Jose Evora Dias, known as "Vozinha", is one of the oldest players in the World Cup, having turned 40 on June 3rd.

With 90 games for the national team, he is considered one of the greatest athletes in Cape Verde's history. Its name is a tribute to former Botafogo player Josimar Pereira, right-back for the Brazilian team in the 1986 World Cup.

Nickname with history and career in Europe
When explaining the origin of the nickname "Vozinha", Josimar highlights that it came about as a result of his creation. "I never lived with my parents. When I was born, my father was in the military and my mother always had to work for something. So I always grew up with my grandparents," said the player.

He currently defends the colors of GD Chaves, a club in the Second Division of Portugal, and has had spells with teams such as Gil Vicente, from the Portuguese elite, and AEL Limassol, from Cyprus, where he stayed for five years.

Cape Verde x Argentina: a game for history
With a lot of drama, Argentina eliminated Cape Verde with a goal in extra time, ensuring a 3-2 victory and qualification to the round of 16 of the World Cup.

Messi and Lisandro Martínez shone with goals and assists, but it was defender Cuti Romero who scored the winning goal. Cape Verde, a Portuguese-speaking country, which, like Brazil, was colonized by the Portuguese, showed a lot of courage on the field.

Those who expected an easy game for Argentina saw another scenario. Cape Verde, once again, was brave and very dedicated on the field. In the team's only inattention, Messi scored.

In extra time, the Argentine defenders shone and avoided an even more dramatic penalty shootout, which almost happened after a "spectacular painting" by Cape Verde. On the Argentine side, there is a warning about the team not being able to impose its game and, mainly, about having come back disconnected for the second half, when they conceded the draw.

Messi celebrates 39 years with tribute from Argentina at the World Cup

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Source: CNN