'This moment a lifetime in the making': Vozinha, 40, hailed a hero after Cape Verde's dream World Cup debut

It was supposed to be a mismatch. Former World and European champions Spain against Cape Verde, tiny African country who qualified for World Cup for the first time.

Cape Verde, a nation of just half a million people, not just stood up against the might of the Spanish but walked away with a precious point in a 0-0 draw at the Atlanta Stadium on Monday.

And it was Vozinha, the tiny nation's 40-year-old goalkeeper, who made save after save, much to the delight of football fans the world over.

He became the oldest player to appear in a nation's debut World Cup match.

The veteran goalkeeper, whose full name is Josimar Jose Evora Dias, delivered the performance of his life, and was awarded the Fifa Man of the Match.

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"The performance is a performance for everyone. I am the man of the game, but this award is for all my colleagues, because without them, nothing is possible. And I will continue to work for the team and for the people," BBC quoted him as saying.

For Vozinha, "this moment had been a lifetime in the making".

He told BBC: "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.

"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." 

Away from the ground, he became a viral sensation, too.

His followers on Instagram spiked to more than 1.5 million from 50,000. 

"That is crazy," he remarked to reporters when told about it afterwards.

Vozinha started playing professional football at the age of 25 in 2012, reported the BBC.

He currently plays for Chaves, Portuguese second division club.

Although he thought about leaving the national team, Vozinha pushed on because of his lifelong dream to play at a World Cup.

Cape Verde is third-smallest country by population to reach a World Cup finals.

It lies nearly 600km off the west coast of Africa, where opportunities for young footballers are limited, yet Vozinha's performance had captured the imagination of the football world.

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helmy.saat@asiaone.com