Meet Cabo Verde, World Cup darlings: Recruiting on LinkedIn, a 40-year-old GK and a belief in themselves

Cabo Verde at the 2026 World Cup is one of those stories that restores faith in the sport and perhaps in something deeper. It’s a story about soccer, yes, but also about the impossible dreams that can become a reality — something that in sports, and in particular at the World Cup, is even more meaningful.

However, Cabo Verde are not just the second-smallest nation by population to ever qualify for the World Cup with just under 500,000 residents, or the smallest country by land area to ever qualify for the World Cup — it’s a sporting project that actually worked out and started off years ago.

For sure, the first-ever World Cup with 48 teams helped them to be where they are right now, but it’s no coincidence at all. In fact, they managed to qualify despite being in the same group as Libya, Angola and most notably Cameroon, one of the historical African national teams at the World Cup.

The question is: how did a nation of just nine inhabited islands, perched 385 miles off Africa’s west coast, make it to the World Cup and then mark its debut by shocking holding European champions Spain to a 0-0 draw? There are countless stories that define this Cabo Verde side. One of the most remarkable belongs to goalkeeper Vozinha, who, at 40 years old, became the oldest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet on his World Cup debut. His saves against Spain turned him into a national icon overnight and earned admiration far beyond the country. And his is just one of many stories behind Cabo Verde’s remarkable rise:

The goalkeeper and new hero, Vozinha

The story of the World Cup so far. Cabo Verde’s goalkeeper, Vozinha, made history in his World Cup debut as he became the oldest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet on his World Cup debut, making seven crucial saves against Spain at 40 years old.

He immediately became a national hero but his story reached another level after the game, when he became a social media star. Before the opening game against Spain, his Instagram account only counted 50,000 followers, and after the whistle that number surpassed three million (and keeps increasing every second). In his post-match interview with CazeTV, which was the one that started driving his social media popularity, he said, “This is crazy.”

Vozinha, who celebrated his 40th birthday earlier this month, plies his trade with Chaves in Portugal’s second tier, where the club finished 10th last season. His full name is Josimar Jose Evora Dias, but he’s called Vozinha due to a special link with the World Cup as he was born during the 1986 edition, played in Mexico and dominated by Diego Armando Maradona’s Argentina. His father actually wanted to call him ‘Valdano’, after the Argentina and Real Madrid player Jorge Valdano, but the authorities refused it and his father named him after Josimar after the Brazilian defender who was one of the key players of the Selecao at the 1986 World Cup.

But then, why Vozinha? Which literally means ‘little grandma’ in English:.

The nickname is because of my grandparents,” he told FIFA. “I never lived with my parents. When I was born, my father was in the military service and my mother had to work hard for something, so I always grew up with my grandparents. No one in Cabo Verde knew me like that [by name], but I didn’t like it at first, I went crazy.

When I arrived in Angola, there was another goalkeeper named Josimar and I said I am not going put Josimar II on the shirt – if everyone knew me as Vozinha in Cabo Verde, that’s what I would be.”

On the pitch, his performance against Spain was nothing short of remarkable. With 68 touches — the most by a goalkeeper in a regulation World Cup match since Croatia’s Drazen Ladic against the Netherlands in 1998 — Vozinha was the undisputed man of the match. His composure in possession and a string of crucial saves helped Cabo Verde secure a historic 0-0 draw against the reigning European champions. After the final whistle, however, Vozinha had no doubt about who deserved the credit for the result:

“I cried because I grew up with my grandparents. Unfortunately, they were not here. They died a few years before. They were everything for me, everything for my life. And also because of my mom. She didn’t manage to be here because of the visa.

Because of the money you have to pay for the visa, we didn’t manage on time,” he said. “I would like her to be here. Our best weapon is our unity. Regardless of the player who arrives today, or the player who is 10 or 15 years old, the way we treat our family is our greatest strength. Everyone thought that we came here just to enjoy the World Cup, but no, we know that we have teams that we will always respect, because this is our first time, but we are here to compete, and we are here to fight for our country.”

Recruited via LinkedIn?

If this story wasn’t great enough, wait to hear about the one of Roberto Lopes, the starting center back who had to face players such as Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres in his World Cup debut. Lopes, who previously worked in a bank, was recruited by the national team via LinkedIn, the most popular networking platform. Lopes, nicknamed Pico, was working as a mortgage adviser in Dublin, Ireland, and played part-time for the Bohemians in the League of Ireland. In 2017, Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers offered Lopes the chance to become a full-time footballer and leave his day job behind. He accepted without hesitation.

Two years later, another life-changing opportunity arrived in a far more unusual way. In 2019, Lopes made his international debut for Cabo Verde after receiving an unexpected message on LinkedIn. Rui Aguas, then head coach of the Blue Sharks, had discovered that Lopes’ father, Carlos, was born in Cabo Verde and realized the defender was eligible to represent the nation. What began with a message on a professional networking platform ultimately led Lopes to the World Cup.

Aguas messaged Lopes in Portuguese asking if he was interested but he didn’t hear back until he had to resend another message months later on the same platform, as the same player told the BBC.

“I thought it was a spam message and I took no notice of it. And then about nine months later, he messaged me back, saying, ‘Hi Roberto, have you had a chance to consider what I said to you?’ I felt so rude for not having replied to him months earlier. I copied the message and put it into Google Translate and it basically said, ‘We’re looking at getting new players into the Cabo Verde squad and would you be interested in declaring for Cabo Verde?’ I was absolutely buzzing with that. I was like, ‘Yep, 100% I’d love to be a part of the squad.'”

Years later, he was in the starting XI facing Spain at the FIFA World Cup, without conceding. Not too bad.

The 2024 MLS Defender of the Year

In the team that made history against Spain, there is also a well-known face in the United States: Columbus Crew defender Steven Moreira started and played 90 minutes in the opening match of Group H, helping his teammates to achieve one of the most incredible and surprising results in the history of the World Cup.

Speaking to Telemundo after the game, he said, “That was a very good game against one of the best nations in the world; it’s a lot of emotion. I’m very happy for my country, the fans, everything. It’s just amazing, because Spain … Wow, what a team.”

Named MLS Defender of the Year in 2024, he was a key figure in Columbus Crew’s MLS Cup-winning side in 2023 and their Leagues Cup triumph in 2024. After representing France at youth level, he received his first call-up from Cabo Verde in 2023. Since then, he has earned 21 caps for the Blue Sharks, and on soccer’s biggest stage, he added another chapter to his remarkable journey, making history on his World Cup debut alongside his teammates.