Could Cape Verde hero goal keeper actually get a move? Six dream landing spots for Vozinha

Cape Verde leaves North America having authored one of the great World Cup stories.

The tiny archipelagic country with its population of around 530,000 was viewed as likely cannon fodder for the big hitters at the expanded 48-team tournament. 

But Bubista's side opened up by frustrating Spain and holding the European champions to a shock 0-0 draw.

They then went about proving that it was no fluke in a 2-2 draw against Uruguay, where Kevin Pina opened the scoring with a sensational long-range strike.

Another stalemate with Saudi Arabia sealed a second–place finish in Group H and a mouthwatering Round of 32 meeting with reigning champions Argentina.

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In Miami, Cape Verde excelled themselves, twice coming from behind before eventually losing 3-2 in extra time.

Sidny Lopes Cabral scored one of the all-time great World Cup goals against Argentina, but veteran goalkeeper Vozinha once again took his share of the headlines.

The 40-year-old has become an unlikely social media phenomenon, vaulting from 46,000 Instagram followers before the tournament to a gigantic 19.2 million afterwards.

Vozinha: 6 dream landing spots for Cape Verde hero

Manchester United

Senne Lammens appeared to solve Manchester United's latest bout of goalkeeping woes with a near-faultless debut year in the Premier League last season. But Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir are heading for the exit door, and there's a vacancy among the backups. Tom Heaton remains, but perhaps there's room for Vozinha to get in the mix with one of the most famous clubs on the planet. He'd further massage United's "global community" of 1.1 billion fans and add to the feel-good factor of the early Carrick era.

Wrexham

Okay, so United is wildly far-fetched. But would Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney turn their nose up at the Hollywood story of the 2026 World Cup? Just imagine the Welcome to Wrexham episode covering Vozinha's story, spliced up with footage of his debut in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

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Orlando City

Lionel Messi might have scored a wonderful goal to open the scoring in Argentina's Round of 32 showdown with Cape Verde, but after that, Vozinha had the better of their duel. He did it in Miami, too, in Messi's adopted backyard. Maybe there's unfinished business, and Vozinha appeals to the other MLS franchise in Florida. Imagine the hype around their reunion in the next derby. 

Even if Orlando doesn't fancy the delicious narrative, it would be surprising if a few MLS teams were not tempted by the most unlikely breakout star from the World Cup. 

Botafogo

Vozinha's full name is Josimar Jose Evora Dias, his father having named him after former Brazil right-back Josimar. At the 1986 World Cup, Josimar was an unexpected breakthrough star. He's now coaching with Brazilian club Botafogo. The language of Cape Verde and Brazil is Portuguese, so acclimatizing to his next fairytale would be no problem for Vozinha. 

Shamrock Rovers

Another of the great romantic stories of Cape Verde's run was Roberto 'Pico' Lopes, the Irish-born centre-back who the Cape Verde FA reached out to on LinkedIn. It's almost certainly the best thing to have ever happened on that website by miles.

Anyway, Pico plies his trade with Republic of Ireland champions Shamrock Rovers. They're into the first round of Champions League qualification against Maltese side Floriana next week. Get Vozinha on the plane!

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Barcelona

If you have any more salt left after that Manchester United suggestion, please apply liberally here. But Marc-Andre ter Stegen is off to Ajax and Wojciech Szczesny is nearly as old as Vozinha. A man who Cruyff turns his way through the first half against Argentina, who frustrates and embarrasses Spain — get him to Catalonia. There isn't even a transfer fee to pay.