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40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper goes viral! Memes take the internet by storm

On the morning of July 4, the Argentina national team faced Cape Verde in the World Cup Round of 16. Soon after extra time began, Lima unleashed a left-footed blast from distance to break the deadlock, helping Argentina go ahead again 2-1. But about 10 minutes later, Cabral of Cape Verde struck a stunning curling shot from the left side of the penalty area, leveling the match at 2-2! Cape Verde once again shocked the world!‌‌In this tournament, the explosive goalkeeper Vozinha—whose follower count surged to 17.77 million—made several crucial saves, helping the team hold Argentina to a 1-1 draw within 90 minutes. After the score was leveled, the Argentina players finally seemed to snap out of it, but then their frantic onslaught ran into Vozinha’s string of incredible saves. First, when Messi burst into the box and went for a one-on-one shot, he used his body to block the ball and drive it out for a corner. After that, during the wall setup, Messi took the direct free kick immediately. Facing this high-quality strike, Vozinha once again launched himself in rapid motion and parried the ball away!

This goalkeeper, who only began his professional career at the age of 25, seems like an outlier everywhere around the world. If you compare him side by side with football stars of the same era: at 25, Cristiano Ronaldo had already won the World Footballer of the Year; at 25, Messi had four Ballon d’Or trophies; Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made his Serie A debut at 17; German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had secured his starting role at 20; and Thibaut Courtois made his Belgian First Division debut at 16. While his age group had already been standing at the very top of world football, Vozinha’s professional start came nearly a decade later than others.

Behind the spotlight, a harsh reality awaits Vozinha. Multiple media outlets have confirmed that the Portuguese club Desportivo das Aves—his team in the Portuguese second tier—has informed him that his contract will not be renewed, and after the season ends he will become a free agent.

At the age of 40, it indicates that his professional football career is already drawing to a close. In this World Cup, it is likely to be his final appearance with the national team.

After the news spread, netizens’ views split in two. Some lamented that his career is without regrets—being able to reach the World Cup is already a complete fulfillment. Others believe he can use the popularity he gained in big tournaments to open up a brand-new path: transitioning into a football coach, serving as a tourism promotion ambassador for Cape Verde, or signing with sports brands to carry out commercial collaborations. His agent revealed that, currently, multiple clubs have already put forward intentions to sign him, and overseas commercial collaboration invitations have also been pouring in.

Now, not only has Vozinha gained the respect and love of football fans worldwide, but memes featuring him as the main character have also rapidly become an online hot topic. This late-blooming goalkeeper had previously said, “If I can manage to save Messi’s penalty, that would be an achievement beyond imagination—another moment when one of my dreams comes true.”