Despite the African’s exit in extra time, the underdogs pushed the reigning World Cup champions all the way, twice fighting back after Messi opened the scoring in the 29th minute with his 20th World Cup goal.
Vozinha was the standout performer of Cape Verde’s remarkable tournament run, producing 18 saves across four matches, including several outstanding stops against Argentina that kept his team competitive deep into extra time.
Speaking after the match, the goalkeeper described a touching interaction with Messi, saying the Argentina captain personally praised his performance and wished him well."I went up to Messi after the game. He hugged me and said: 'You are great. Your people should be proud of you'. That was incredible for me. Hearing words like that from someone like Leo Messi means a lot to me," he told media as quoted by La Tercera.
"I thanked him and said, Thank you, Leo. You are the best. Then I asked if we could swap shirts. Leo said he would give it to me in the tunnels after the interview."