goalkeeper

From his hometown of Sao Vicente in Cape Verde, Vozinha has been his jersey name throughout his club career.

Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha broke down in tears at the end of the 0-0 draw with Spain after the 40-year-old was mobbed by his teammates following a stunning display as he denied the European champions victory in their World Cup opener.

Cape Verde were pinned back in their own half for much of Monday’s game, but whenever Spain broke through their dogged rearguard, Vozinha came to the rescue.

His heroics earned him the player of the match, pulling off a string of saves at the end of the first half to deny Ferran Torres, Pedri and Aymeric Laporte.

Here’s everything we know about the Cape Verde goalkeeper:

Where does Vozinha play?

Vozinha goalkeeps for Chaves in Portugal’s second-tier football league.

The World Cup is by far the biggest stage he has reached, but Vozinha began his club career at home with Batuque FC, before transferring to CS Mindelense.

The veteran player’s experience comes from the myriad clubs he has represented – from Progresso in Angola to Zimbru Chisinau in Moldova, Gil Vicente in Portugal, AEL Limassol in Cyprus and AS Trencin in Slovakia, before arriving at Chaves.

Is Vozinha his real name?

No, Vozinha is a moniker for Josimar Jose Evora Dias. It came from his grandparents, whom he spent most of his time with as his father was in the military and his mother was working. The name checks out, since it means “little granny” in Portuguese.

From his hometown of Sao Vicente in Cape Verde, Vozinha has been his jersey name throughout the nomadic club pilgrimage across Africa and Europe.

“When I arrived in Angola, there was another goalkeeper named Josimar, and I said, ‘I am not going to put Josimar II on the shirt’. If everyone knew me as Vozinha in Cape Verde, that’s what I would be,” he told FIFA in an interview earlier this year.

What did Vozinha say after the match?

The Cape Verde keeper was reduced to tears by his heroics and fairytale World Cup debut.

“Very proud… It is an honour for me to represent my country,” Vozinha told reporters of his island nation, the third smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup.

“I cried because I grew up with my grandparents and, unfortunately, they were not here; they died a few years before, and they did everything for me and my life,” he added.

“Also, my mum, she didn’t manage to be here because of the visa. The money for the visa, we didn’t manage on time, and I would like her to be here.”

Is Vozinha world-famous now?

Yes, on all counts.

The goalkeeper’s Instagram following jumped from a modest 500,000 to nearly 5 million within a few hours of full-time in the Spain match.

His quiet brilliance was spotlighted on the world’s biggest stage for all to see.

French football star Paul Pogba took to social media after the match in praise of Vozinha.

“The Cape Verde goalkeeper is really something, waaaaw,” he wrote.

Collina asked for protocol to be updated so the VAR could step in if a foul occurred before the ball was in play.

There have been several examples, such as a goal scored by England in their 1-1 draw against Uruguay at Wembley in March.

Cole Palmer delivered a corner into the area, but before the ball was kicked Adam Wharton blocked the run of Jose Maria Gimenez.

That allowed the ball to run through to Harvey Barnes, who saw his effort saved by Fernando Muslera, and Ben White tapped in from close range.

VAR protocol did not previously allow a review for a foul before a corner has been taken, but the Italian asked Ifab for permission to change this.

The Ifab has now accepted the request, and says that any foul before the ball is in play that has a direct impact can be reviewed.

This will apply to a goal, penalty kick or disciplinary sanction which happens on a corner or free-kick

The measure will be applied for the World Cup and reassessed after the tournament.

It means that for the England goal, the VAR would be able to suggest a retake of the corner because of the foul by Wharton on Gimenez.

“We think this is very unfair, that the goal is given when the defender is prevented from being able to defend,” Collina said.

“A clear, illegal block made by an attacker. The only objective was to prevent the defender from being able to defend on his opponent.

“We are very confident to receive a clarification from the Ifab before the World Cup, saying that the VAR can intervene just before the ball is in play. We are convinced that nobody can object.”

This will only apply to attacking fouls, and not to defensive fouls for holding or pulling.

Collina also explained the new rule for players who cover their mouth with a hand, arm or shirt in confrontation with an opponent.

This will now be a red card after the controversial incident involving Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr in a Champions League game in February.

Prestianni received a six-game ban from Uefa for homophobic conduct.

“If the conversation is friendly, they can continue to do it without any problem,” Collina said.

“When the conversation is confrontational, covering the mouth means that you are doing something very wrong, potentially, and the sanction is the red card.”

Collina also said his referees would be ready to monitor grappling inside the area, with officials provided with data on the tactical approach of teams.

Two months ago questions were raised as to whether Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky would ever play for the club again.

The Czech Republic international endured a nightmare 17 minutes in their Champions League last-16 match against Atletico Madrid in March which saw him concede three goals before being substituted off by then-manager Igor Tudor.

But after making one of the saves of the season to deny Leeds a late winner on Monday – ensuring Tottenham earned a point towards potential Premier League survival – the 23-year-old may just have gone some way to redeeming himself.

Mathys Tel’s 50th-minute strike had put Spurs ahead but the forward conceded a penalty for a high boot on Ethan Ampadu 24 minutes later and Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted from the spot to level at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Both sides probed for a winner in 13 minutes of added time and Leeds thought they had found it in the 99th minute when James Justin played Sean Longstaff through and the midfielder unleashed a powerful strike at the near post from close range.

Enter Kinsky, who stretched to get fingertips to the ball and ensure it clattered off the crossbar and not into the roof of his net.

It is impossible to say how important that save could be come the end of the season but for now it leaves Spurs two points clear of West Ham in the relegation zone with two games remaining.

“That save is one of the saves of the season,” said former Liverpool defender Jamie Carrager on Sky Sports.

“Football is an absolute rollercoaster and who would have thought he would ever play for Tottenham again – and then he does that.

“You would have to have a heart of stone if you weren’t delighted for him. Everyone thought his career was over but that save can be the moment that keeps Tottenham in the Premier League.”

Until a couple of seasons ago, it was usually an outfield player who would go to ground to stop play.

It was being used for two distinct reasons.

Either to break up the momentum of the opposition by causing a stoppage in play, or for the coach to give instructions to his players. Sometimes it has been both.

English football attempted to combat this by insisting that any player who receives treatment must leave the field for 30 seconds.

It had some positive results, but managers just switched focus and told the goalkeeper to ask for treatment.

A team cannot play without a goalkeeper, so it became a risk-free method of impacting the opposition, or getting the opportunity to talk to your team.

There is nothing a referee can do about it, as they cannot accuse a player of faking an injury. If it turned out the player was genuinely injured there could be serious repercussions.

So the game has been stuck in a doom loop.

Goalkeepers go down, the other 10 players rush to the technical area for a team talk.

As soon as the coach has delivered his message, the keeper miraculously gets to his feet.

It has been a theme during Leeds‘ season, starting in November when Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma went down as the West Yorkshire club were in the ascendancy at Etihad Stadium.

Manager Daniel Farke accused Donnarumma of feigning injury to “bend the rules” and break up play.

But this is not a Leeds issue, it is a football issue. It is happening at all levels of the game and is particularly prevalent in the women’s game.