Cape Verde’s Vozinha becomes an Instagram sensation thanks to his saves and a 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 and growing throughout the day. Vozinha, who only began playing professionally at 25, is one of the few players 40 or older in the tournament. He made several crucial saves against Spain’s powerful attack and was named the 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.

Working on mom’s visa

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

In Washington, the U.S. 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 Verde authorities. The department said it had notified all players from World Cup countries affected by the $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.

A person familiar with the situation said that the State Department believes that Vozinha’s mother did not apply for a visa because she did not hold a valid Cape Verde passport, but that she is now in the process of getting one.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential visa deliberations. A request for comment was sent to the team Tuesday afternoon. The team’s next match is Sunday.

Payne’s similar case

A similar case to Vozinha’s virality happened last month, with New Zealand defender Tim Payne, after an Argentine influencer called on his followers to make the little-known player a “hero” of the World Cup.

El Scarso, a soccer influencer also known as Valen Scarsini, identified the 32-year-old Payne as the least-known player at the World Cup based on his small social media following.

Payne had around 4,700 followers on Instagram before being singled out by El Scarso. That number quickly rose to more than a million. He had nearly 6 million followers on Tuesday.

Push for new audiences

FIFA has made a push to engage a new generation of fans by giving younger audiences more options to access soccer’s showcase event. For the 2026 World Cup, it reached what it described as a record number of deals with broadcast partners carrying digital-only platforms, and partnered with TikTok and YouTube to allow users to see parts of matches live.

Brazil historically has been one of the countries with the most engagement on social media and digital platforms. FIFA took notice and four years ago did a type of a test run with CazéTV after Cazé’s success on Twitch. He broadcast 22 matches during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, leading to a bigger deal for this year’s tournament.

“Thank you,” Vozinha told CazéTV. “The Brazilians have always supported us. We felt it during our campaign to qualify for the World Cup and now we are feeling it again at the biggest stage. We are thankful for it.”

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AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed reporting from Washington.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup