Veteran goalkeeper Vozinha, who turned 40 on 3 June, was named Player of the Match after making seven saves to help World Cup debutants Cape Verde hold Spain to a goalless draw in Atlanta. But his heroics were bittersweet: his mother could not be in the stands at Mercedes-Benz Stadium because of US visa issues.
Cape Verde, ranked 65 places below Spain in Fifa's world rankings, produced the biggest ever upset in a World Cup game that did not end in the higher-ranked side winning. They were penalised for only one foul — the fewest by a team in a World Cup match on record since 1966. That foul, committed by Sidny Lopes Cabral in the first half, earned a yellow card.
“Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha's mother missed his World Cup heroics against Spain due to US visa issues.”
Vozinha, who plays for Chaves in Portugal's second tier, is the second-oldest man to make his World Cup debut. Only Essam El-Hadary — 45 years and 161 days old at the 2018 tournament for Egypt — was older. Since 1966, the only goalkeeper aged 40 or older to make more saves in a World Cup fixture was Northern Ireland's Pat Jennings, who made 10 against Brazil in 1986 on his 41st birthday.
Spain, who have not scored a World Cup goal since Alvaro Morata's 11th-minute header against Japan in Qatar, have now had 49 shots and completed 2,500 passes without finding the net. That game against Japan was followed by a 0-0 draw in their last-16 match against Morocco — which they lost on penalties — and now another stalemate against Cape Verde. Spain have only won their first match in three of their past 15 World Cup appearances.
Striker Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored Spain's winning goal in the Euro 2024 final against England, did not touch the ball in the first 30 minutes — a statistic Opta say has no other example in a World Cup match since 1966.
An emotional Vozinha told reporters: “I cried after the game because I grew up with my grandparents when I was a kid, and they could not be there. They passed away a few years ago. My mum could not be here either for a visa issue, and the money we had to pay for it. We did not manage to do this in time.”
The US visa system has caused problems for several teams at the World Cup. Iran last week accused the US of denying visas to "integral" members of its team's backroom staff. Four members of Iran's delegation won appeals against rejected applications, but 11 will not be allowed to travel to the US. Iranian supporters' group-stage ticket allocation was also revoked by US officials.
For Cape Verde, the draw was a triumph. The players and staff celebrated like a victory, and Vozinha said: “This is a message of thank you to everybody in Cape Verde. We are very happy after this, this group of players have worked a lot to live this moment. It’s a day to be proud and satisfied.”