MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Sunday is Father's Day. Except, perhaps, for Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha.
The feel-good story of the World Cup was on the field Sunday, when Cape Verde took on Uruguay in the second group-stage match for both teams. And Vozinha — whose name is Josimar José Évora Dias — had his mother in the stands for that match; she was unable to attend Cape Verde's stunning opening draw against Spain because she couldn't obtain a visa.
Ana Candida Evora is here now, though — making Cape Verde's story even better.
“I want to thank all the fans, everyone who helped in the process, for the support you gave to the team, especially to Cabo Verde,” Evora said Sunday in remarks distributed by FIFA in a video message. “We’re all rooting for Cabo Verde to play well, to shine on the pitch. The players need to have faith and everything will go well.
“Keep your heads held high, go onto that pitch, push for a goal and you’ll perform beautifully, my boys. A kiss for you, be strong and brave. Blue Sharks!”
The team is commonly called ‘Tubarões Azuis' in Portuguese, which translates to Blue Sharks.
Evora carried a Cabo Verde flag into the stadium, her son's name and jersey number on the back of her shirt, and she was ushered into a suite to watch the contest. Vozinha heard roars from the fans — even with a mostly pro-Uruguay crowd — whenever he was shown on the video screens during warmups, and got perhaps the loudest ovation of any player when starters were introduced.
Evora's visa issues — primarily raising the money needed for one — were worked out after the U.S. State Department, FIFA, U.S. lawmakers and Cape Verde's soccer federation evidently combined efforts and cleared a path for Evora to come to Miami. She arrived Friday afternoon after more than 24 hours of travel from Cape Verde and was immediately surrounded by FIFA officials and volunteers as she made her way through the airport.
FIFA even hosted her briefly at the organization's tournament headquarters in Florida over the weekend, officials said Sunday.
Vozinha had about 50,000 followers on Instagram as the World Cup was starting. He was up to 15 million followers by game time Sunday after he grabbed the world's sporting attention by leading Cape Verde to a scoreless draw against Spain — one of the pre-tournament favorites to win the title.
That means he gained about 30 followers every second from the end of the Spain match to the start of the one against Uruguay.
He went viral after that match against Spain with tearful comments, wishing that his late grandparents could have seen him play in the World Cup and that his mother's visa issues had been resolved in time to be there. That sparked an immediate effort to find ways for Evora to get to the U.S. for the tournament.
And the tie, combined with a story of a 40-year-old goalie and his mom, brought attention onto Cape Verde's soccer team like never before.
“It’s been intense,” Cape Verde forward Garry Rodrigues said. "But as we are professionals, the game (against) Spain is now in the past. ... We're still human. Seeing everything on the internet has been very intense. But we cannot use that as an excuse. We know our targets. We know our goals.”
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup