Read 3 minutes15 Jun 2026 11:55 PM IST
Starting line-up Cape Verde’s FIFA World Cup debut Normal reads until the goalkeeper is named. Say ‘Wojinha’.
It is the nickname of 40-year-old custodian Josimar José Evora Día, which he has used throughout his career. In Portuguese it means ‘little voice’ (voz means voice and inha means small).
Football’s biggest night for the 40-year-old legend proved apt as he roared through 90 minutes and made seven big saves to stop 2010 world champions and tournament favourites, Spain.
Born in Cape Verde, Vozinha got his nickname from his grandparents. “The nickname is because of my grandparents. My father was in the army and my mother was working so I grew up with them,” Wozinha told FIFA in an interview.
The nickname may not have gone beyond his island, he decided to keep the nickname when he arrived in Angola to play for Progresso.
“In Cape Verde nobody knew me by that name. But at first I didn’t like it, it made me mad. But when I came to Angola, there was another goalkeeper called Josimar. So I said, ‘I’m not going to put another Josimar on my shirt.’ And if everyone knows me as Wozinha from Cape Verde, that will last,” he added.
Vozinha has been a journeyman in his career and has played for nine clubs in five countries, currently plying his trade at Portuguese club Chaves in the second division.
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Growing up in São Vicente, Vozinha was beaten a lot by older boys but his rebellious nature meant he kept taking the hits. “My neighborhood kids were very big. And I was always playing in the street, getting beat up a lot. Well, I was very good with my feet, I was competitive and rebellious,” he said, adding that I was very rebellious. FIFA.
Vozina showed he can take some hits, making seven saves against one of the tournament favorites on Monday and keeping Pedri, Gavi, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal at bay.