There are unexpected heroes and dreams that come true late—or perhaps at exactly the right moment. Cape Verde’s goalkeeper is named Vozinha, he is 40 years old, plays in Portugal’s Second Division, and is one of the heroes of this World Cup.

THE MAN WHO WON THE HEARTS OF MILLIONS

The African goalkeeper kept a clean sheet against Spain in his World Cup debut, making seven saves and four clearances. But to fulfill his dream, he had to work hard and wait for an opportunity that at times seemed very far away.

"I started playing professionally at 25, in 2012. That’s quite late for someone like me," Vozinha explained after his outstanding performance against Spain. "I did think about leaving the national team, but I decided to continue because I had this dream," said the goalkeeper from the African archipelago.

After making his debut at 40 years and 12 days old, he finished the match with tears in his eyes.

"I cried because I was raised by my grandparents. But they are not here because they passed away a few years ago. They were everything to me, everything in my life.

"Also because of my mother. She wasn’t able to travel because of a visa issue. We had to pay for the application process and we didn’t do it in time. I would have loved for her to be here," he added after the victory.

A SOCIAL MEDIA PHENOMENON

Vozinha currently plays for Chaves in Portugal’s Second Division, away from the spotlight, but his fame grew so quickly that his Instagram account went from 50,000 followers to nearly 10 million followers in just a matter of hours.

Although the world knows him as Vozinha, his birth name is Josimar Dias, named after the Brazilian defender who played in the 1986 World Cup.

However, when he was born, his father wanted to name him Valdano, after the Argentine player, but the request was rejected by the authorities in his hometown.

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