Vozinha's fairytale World Cup run is over - but not before he gave Lionel Messi himself one more thing to think about.
The 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper made eight saves on Friday in a heartbreaking 3-2 extra-time loss to Argentina in the Round of 32, including a stunning denial of a Messi free kick that had the Miami crowd on its feet. Cape Verde, ranked 67th in the world, twice fought back from a goal down against the defending champions before finally falling in extra time - closing out one of the most beloved runs in tournament history.
JubileeCast previously reported on Vozinha's remarkable World Cup debut, when he shut out Spain and moved fans to tears with a tribute to the grandmother who raised him. Ahead of Friday's match, his mother, Ana Candida Evora - who traveled to the U.S. after a visa delay kept her from his opening game - sent her son off with a message distributed by FIFA: "The players need to have faith and everything will go well."
Vozinha's grandmother gave him his nickname, meaning "little grandmother" in Portuguese, and Deacon Daniel Vaz of Cape Verde's Diocese of Santiago has credited her faith and values with shaping the resilience that carried Vozinha through a 19-year career across six countries before this tournament.
Cape Verde's World Cup ends in the Round of 32. But for a nation of just 550,000 people, Vozinha's run - capped by nearly denying the greatest player of his generation - will be remembered as a triumph of its own.
Related Article: Cape Verde's 40-Year-Old Goalkeeper Shocked Spain: Who Is Vozinha and Why He's Inspiring the World
