Throughout the match, Vojinha repeatedly thwarted the Spanish attack, stopping everything from Miguel Ayerzabal's header to Ferran Torres' low shot and Aymeric Laporte's header.
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In the end, Spain could not score against Cape Verde goalkeeper Vojinha. Cape Verde, who were making their World Cup debut, held a strong team like Spain to a goalless draw with the 40-year-old goalkeeper. Vojinha could not control himself after the game. He became emotional and shed tears. Entering the 2026 World Cup, 'La Rosa' was the strongest candidate for the title.
Coach Luis de La had claimed that his team was the best in this World Cup. However, the Spanish team had players like Ballon d'Or winner Rodri and Fabian Ruiz, who recently won the European Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The team also had players from the Euro 2024 title. But none of them could break down the defense that Cape Verde had built.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, who came on the field injured in the second half, could not do anything . Vojinha's 'clean sweep' is a performance that will not be talked about for a long time . After the match, Vojinha, surrounded by journalists, said, 'I am feeling very proud . There is no greater honor than playing for your country .'
He added, 'We come from a very small country . Our World Cup qualification was also difficult, because there were teams like Cameroon and Libya in our group . But we knew that if we follow the plan made by the coach, we have a good chance of qualifying . And so it happened, our dream came true . Today we got to play against the best team in the World Cup, Spain . We are all happy for the people of Cape Verde .'
Vojinha repeatedly thwarted the Spanish attack throughout the entire match . He stopped Miguel Ayerzabal's header, Ferran Torres' low shot and Aymeric Laporte's header. Cape Verde's equalizer was not the only reason behind his tears after the game. Behind this was not being able to accept the result of the game with his mother and grandparents.
Vojinha said, 'The reason I cried today is because my grandparents raised me. But they didn't get to see all this, because they have left this world. What didn't they do for me? And my mother couldn't come to watch the game either, because she couldn't get a visa. We couldn't arrange a visa. If she had been a mother, she would have been even happier.' He said that he was also very happy for the general public of Cape Verde.
In his playing career, Vojinha has played everywhere, from his own country Cape Verde to Angola, Moldova, Cyprus, Slovakia and now Portugal. It is certain that now he will have many followers. That is why, within a few hours of the match, his Instagram followers had gone from under 50,000 to 5 million. Within 20 hours, 75 million had been reached. Cape Verde coach Bubista also did not hesitate to praise his most experienced player.
During his World Cup debut, Vojinha won 89 ‘caps’ for Cape Verde. Bubista said, ‘He was very emotional.’ He is a very experienced player and has made many sacrifices and penances to get to this day. That is why the tears in his eyes are natural. He really did a great job. He was the best player on the field. In my analysis, our defense was second to none.’
