The people's keeper: how Vozinha, 40 and unsigned, became the World Cup's most-loved man

Cape Verde are the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup, and their 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, a free agent who once worked as an electrician, has become its most-loved figure. He held Spain to a 0-0 draw, denied Messi repeatedly as Cape Verde pushed Argentina to extra time, and saw his Instagram following explode past six million. KFF on the granny-keeper fairytale.

Cape Verde are a scatter of ten islands off the coast of West Africa, home to barely half a million people, and until this summer they had never been to a World Cup. They are the smallest nation ever to reach one. And the man who has made the whole planet fall in love with them is a 40-year-old goalkeeper who does not even have a club. His name is Vozinha, and he is the story of this tournament.

Start with the nickname, because everyone wants to know. Vozinha means "little granny" in Portuguese, and it has nothing to do with his grey-flecked beard or his age. His father was away in the military and his mother worked long hours, so he grew up in the care of his grandparents on the island of São Vicente. When childhood street games turned rough, his friends teased him for "running back to granny." Four decades later, a nation of half a million and a watching world call him nothing else.

On the pitch there is nothing soft about him. Cape Verde went through their group unbeaten, and Vozinha was the reason. He kept out everything Spain threw at him to earn a stunning 0-0 draw, seven saves and the Player of the Match award against one of the favourites, then added clean sheets and calm as the Blue Sharks held Uruguay and Saudi Arabia to reach the Round of 32 on their debut.

Then came the night that made him famous. Against defending champions Argentina, Vozinha stood tall again and again, denying Lionel Messi time after time and dragging tiny Cape Verde into extra time before they finally fell 3-2. At the whistle Messi sought him out, wrapped him in an embrace and told him he was a wonderful goalkeeper and that his country should be proud. The image travelled around the world.

His story travelled with it. This is a man who worked as an electrician and did not sign his first professional contract until he was 26, a journeyman who has drifted through lower-tier clubs in Portugal, Slovakia, Cyprus and Angola and whose deal at Portuguese side GD Chaves has just run out. He arrived at the biggest stage in sport as a free agent, on one of the smallest salaries of any player there, and outshone the galácticos.

The internet did the rest. His Instagram following rocketed from around fifty thousand to more than six million in a matter of days. The transfer rumours have followed, some real and some pure mischief: serious talk of Inter Miami and a romantic reunion with Messi, and a fake "€250 million bid" from Chelsea that fans invented to poke fun and then shared until half the world half-believed it. When Cape Verde flew home, thousands packed the airport to greet their granny like a king.

For Kenya and for Africa, this is the tale we will tell for years. A team nobody rated, a keeper nobody had signed, standing toe to toe with Spain and Argentina and refusing to blink. With Morocco and Egypt carrying the continent into the quarter-finals, Vozinha's fairytale is Africa's too. Nyanya wa Cape Verde ameiba mioyo ya dunia nzima, na bara zima limesimama naye: Cape Verde's granny has stolen the whole world's heart, and the entire continent stands with him. This, right here, is why we watch.