Cape Verde’s Vozinha becomes Instagram sensation thanks to his saves and streamer’s push

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — When shown the number of Instagram followers he had gained after helping tiny Cape Verde hold off powerhouse Spain in his team’s World Cup debut, 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha gasped and laughed in shock.

He was speaking shortly after Monday’s stunning 0-0 draw in Atlanta against the European champions, when he had gone from about 50,000 followers to more than 1 million.

Less than 24 hours after the game, Vozinha already had nearly 10 million Instagram followers — more than NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama (6.2 million) and NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes (6.4 million).

“Crazy, that’s crazy,” Vozinha told Brazilian YouTube channel CazéTV after the match that turned him into the biggest new name of the World Cup so far.

It was CazéTV, the only channel in Brazil with the rights to all 104 World Cup games, that was taking credit for the huge surge in followers.

CazéTV is anchored by the popular Brazilian streamer Casimiro Miguel, known as Cazé.

The channel has more than 31 million subscribers on YouTube and is known for sports broadcasts marked by a more informal and conversational approach, with a focus on community-based fan engagement.

While watching Vozinha’s performance during the broadcast, Cazé realized that the goalkeeper did not have many Instagram followers and began asking his audience to start following him.

Spain, one of the World Cup favorites, was widely expected to cruise past the tournament debutants. But La Roja could not find a way past Vozinha and a stubborn defense that had an answer to everything Spain’s superstars threw at them.

“Normally, we ask for subscribers,” Cazé said.

“We are not going to ask for subscribers today; we are going to ask for followers. For Vozinha. He is stopping Spain. He is shocking the world. He is the standout player of the first half. Why not show him some love?”

His followers increased by a few hundred thousand shortly after that and kept growing throughout the day.

Vozinha, who only began playing professionally at 25, is one of the few players aged 40 or older in the tournament. He made several crucial saves against Spain’s powerful attack and was named man of the match.

The result sparked celebrations in Cape Verde, the group of islands off Africa’s west coast that is home to about half a million people. Cape Verde is the third-smallest nation by population to ever qualify for the World Cup.

Vozinha said after the game that his mother was not able to make it to the United States to watch him play because of difficulties obtaining a visa.

In Washington, the US State Department said it had no record of her ever applying for a visa, but that it was working on resolving the situation with Cape Verdean authorities.

The department said it had notified all players from World Cup countries affected by the US$15,000 visa bond requirement that they and their families would be exempt from posting the bond.

“All relatives of players are eligible for visa bond waivers, and the department is actively reaching out to this player’s family to assist with visa services,” the department said.

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