Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha claimed that visa issues within the US stopped his mother from witnessing his World Cup heroics in person
The shotstopper was named the Player of the Match in Atalanta as the African nation secured the unlikeliest of draws against the European champions. Vozinha made seven saves during the goalless draw.
The 40-year-old cut an emotional figure on the pitch at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at full-time with the Cape Verde players and staff celebrating their draw like a victory, but issues getting into America meant that Vozinha didn’t have his mother present.
The goalkeeper told reporters: “This is a message of thank you to everybody in Cap Verde. We are very happy after this, this group of players have worked a lot to live this moment. It’s a day to be proud and satisfied.
“I cried after the game because I grew up with my grandparents when I was a kid, and they could not be there. They passed away a few years ago. My mum could not be here either for a visa issue, and the money we had to pay for it. We did not manage to do this in time.”
The World Cup in North America has been marred by a number of issues, one of which has been the issuing of visas to individuals from certain countries. The most high profile of those has been Iran, who have had to change their base from the States to Mexico.
Four members of Iran’s World Cup delegation recently won appeals against having their visa applications for entry rejected last week, but 11 members of the party will not be allowed to travel to the US when their team plays matches there. Iran last week accused the US of denying visas to “integral” members of its team’s backroom staff.
View 2 ImagesThe Cape Verde goalkeeper was named the Player of the Match
Iran play New Zealand in their opening game in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. They will return to the city to face Belgium on 21 June before meeting Egypt in Seattle on 26 June. They had their attempts at moving their games outside of the US rejected by FIFA, who stuck by their original schedule.
Article continues below
The country’s World Cup group-stage ticket allocation for supporters was revoked by US officials last week, but football’s governing body has insisted it is working to “maximise opportunities for Iranian supporters to attend matches”.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with the Sky Glass ‘designed for football’This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
from £4.50SkyGet the deal here
Sky is knocking 20% off its entire range of Glass TVs to mark the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to the Sky smart TV that’s ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 per month when taken alongside a Sky TV and Netflix package.