Prateek Tanmay
3 min readJun 15, 2026 11:55 PM IST
The starting line-up on Cape Verde’s debut at the FIFA World Cup reads normal until the goalkeeper’s name comes up. It says ‘Vozinha’.
It is the nickname of the 40-year-old custodian Josimar Jose Evora Dia, which he has used throughout his career. In Portuguese, it means ‘little voice’ (voz meaning voice and inha meaning little).
The nickname proved to be apt on the biggest night for Cape Verde in football as the 40-year-old veteran as he shouted and screamed for the 90 minutes and made seven big saves to put 2010 World Champions and one of the tournament favourites Spain at bay.
Vozinha, who was born in Cape Verde, got the nickname because of his grandparents. “The nickname is because of my grandparents. I grew up with them as my father was in the military and my mother was working,” Vozinha told FIFA in an interview.
While the nickname shouldn’t have traveled beyond his island, when he arrived in Angola to play for Progresso, he decided to keep the nickname.
“Nobody in Cape Verde knew me by that name. But I didn’t like it at first, it drove me crazy. But when I arrived in Angola, there was another goalkeeper named Josimar. So I said, ‘I’m not going to put Josimar II on my shirt.’ And if everyone knew me as Vozinha in Cape Verde, that’s what was going to stick,” he added further.
Vozinha has been a journeyman for his career and has played for nine clubs across five countries currently plying his trade at the second division Portuguese club Chaves.
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Growing up on the Sao Vicente, Vozinha was beaten up a lot by the older boys but his rebellious nature meant that he kept taking the hits.“In my neighborhood, the boys were much older. And I always played in the street, getting beaten up a lot. Well, I was also very good with my feet, I was competitive and rebellious, I didn’t like to lose. I took a lot of hits,” he told FIFA.
On Monday with seven saves against one of the favourites in the tournament and keeping the likes of Pedri, Gavi, Ferran Torres, and Lamine Yamal on bay, Vozhina showed that he can take a few hits.
