Cape Verde will be making its World Cup debut in 2026. The Atlantic island nation has put in an impressive performance in the African qualifiers. Group H, which includes world number one Spain, will be the toughest test – but simply qualifying for the World Cup is a historic achievement in itself.

Manager Bubista has named three goalkeepers for the Blue Sharks: Vozinha, Márcio Rosa and CJ dos Santos. Cape Verde is taking part in a World Cup for the very first time – one of four World Cup debutants in 2026, alongside Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. In Group H, the Blue Sharks will face Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. The goalkeeping trio comprises a 39-year-old national hero, a veteran from the Bulgarian league and a Philadelphia-born MLS keeper who, until a few weeks ago, was still playing for the USA.

Vozinha, whose real name is Josimar José Évora Dias, was born on 3 June 1986 in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente – and will be competing in the tournament at the age of 40. With over 85 international caps, he is the most experienced player in the entire squad, the team’s vice-captain and the oldest member of the goalkeeping trio. His career has taken him from his home islands via Angola, Portugal, Moldova, Cyprus and Slovakia to GD Chaves in Liga Portugal 2, where he has been playing since July 2024. In the 2024/25 season, he featured in all 32 league matches and kept 11 clean sheets – solid figures in Portugal’s second tier for a 38-year-old.

Vozinha was part of the squads for the 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023 AFCON tournaments – he has lived through and helped shape the entire modern era of Cape Verdean football. The 2026 World Cup is the crowning glory of a career that no one could have predicted would last this long. For Cape Verde, he is more than just a goalkeeper: he is the face of a generation.

Rosa, 29 years old and born in Praia, Cape Verde, is the only true local in the trio of goalkeepers – and has had an unusually long journey through European football. Having come up through the EPIF academy in Cape Verde, he joined GD Chaves in Portugal at the age of 17, progressed through their youth ranks and went on to play for Montalegre, Cova da Piedade, Real SC, Vilafranquense and Anadia, before moving to Hebar Pazardzhik in the Bulgarian Parva Liga in 2024, where he made 20 league appearances with a save percentage of almost 73 per cent. Since the summer of 2025, he has been with Montana, also in the Bulgarian first division. With around eight international caps, he is the international link between Vozinha and new signing dos Santos, experienced enough for the backup role, yet young enough for the future.

Dos Santos, aged 25 and born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the most unusual goalkeeper at this World Cup. The son of a Cape Verdean father and a Portuguese mother, he grew up at the Philadelphia Union Academy, moved to the Benfica Academy in Lisbon at the age of 16 and progressed through all the youth and reserve teams there until making his professional debut for Benfica B in the Portuguese second division. This was followed by a move to Inter Miami in the MLS – including the first League Cup title in 2023 and the MLS Supporters’ Shield in 2024. Since December 2024, he has been the first-choice goalkeeper at San Diego FC, the MLS expansion club, where he kept 10 clean sheets in 30 appearances during his debut season and helped the club set a points record.