Jannik Sinner: The Unexpected Surprise at the 2026 World Championships
The 2026 World Cup managed to produce its first fairy tale story in its very first week, thanks to Cape Verde’s stunning performance in holding the highly favored Spanish team to a 0-0 draw. The undisputed hero of the match in Atlanta was goalkeeper Josimar Dias, also known as Vozinha. In a single night, he managed to rack up enough stats to surpass none other than Jannik Sinner.
We’re not talking about his athletic stats, though those are certainly impressive. Vozinha, born in 1986, became—at 40 years and 12 days old—the oldest goalkeeper in history to make his World Cup debut while keeping a clean sheet. The goalkeeper, who plays for Chaves in Portugal’s Segunda Liga during the season, has suddenly become one of the most beloved athletes of the moment. This is evident from his Instagram followers, which surpassed those of Sinner himself in just a few hours.
The numbers speak for themselves: at 6:00 p.m. Italian time on June 15, just 46,000 users were following Josimar Dias; by 11:00 a.m. on June 16, that number had grown to 6.1 million. That’s an increase of over six million, enough to overtake Sinner, who now trails him by more than half a million. This is another great source of satisfaction for Vozinha, as well as a personal victory. The Cape Verdean goalkeeper, in fact, chose his nickname as a response to the bullying he endured at a young age.
On the field, the seven saves he made against the Furie Rosse speak louder than any statistic about the magnitude of his achievement. Spain dominated possession with a fruitless 74%, but managed to seriously trouble Vozinha only on rare occasions: the most spectacular coming in the 40th minute of the first half, when a shot by Ferran Torres that hit the crossbar and a subsequent header by Oyarzabal were both neutralized by the Cape Verdean goalkeeper. Oyarzabal had a night to forget: according to Opta data, the Real Sociedad forward didn’t touch the ball in the first 30 minutes of the match, becoming the first player to record this statistic in a World Cup since 1966.
But beyond the statistics, it was the moment after the final whistle that ultimately won over the hearts of the entire world. Vozinha broke down in tears in front of the cameras, explaining in simple and touching words the emotional weight of that evening: “I cried because I thought about my grandparents—they’re no longer with us, but I’m sure they would have been proud of me. And I’m also crying for my mother: I really wish she were here, but the visa fees were too high, and we couldn’t make it in time.” These words have spread around the world, sparking a unanimous call on social media for FIFA to take action to allow the goalkeeper’s mother to travel to the United States and watch her son’s upcoming matches in person.
A story rooted in a long and nomadic career, built brick by brick far from the spotlight. Having come up through the ranks at Batuque in Cape Verde, Vozinha played for Mindelense and Progresso before moving to Europe in 2015 to join Zimbru Chisinau in Moldova. Then came Gil Vicente in Portugal, AEL Limassol in Cyprus—where he won a local cup—and two years in Slovakia with AS Trencin, before his current stint at Chaves. A journey that has brought him to this World Cup with 89 caps for the national team under his belt, and a market value that, until just a few days ago, Transfermarkt estimated at a mere 50,000 euros. A figure that, after the night in Atlanta, already seems to belong to another universe.
