▲ Cabo Verde goalkeeper Vozinha
FIFA announced today (July 23, Korean time) the results of a fan vote selecting the Dream Team, equivalent to the Best XI, for the North and Central America World Cup.
Vozinha took first place in the goalkeeper category with 39.6% of the vote.
Cabo Verde, an African island nation with a population of only about 580,000, captured the attention of football fans worldwide during this North and Central America World Cup.
Although it was their first appearance in the World Cup finals, they pulled off a sensation by holding the "Armada" Spain to a 0-0 draw in their opening match, followed by a 2-2 draw with South American powerhouse Uruguay and a 0-0 stalemate against Saudi Arabia. They finished second in Group H with 3 draws (3 points), remaining undefeated to advance to the Round of 32.
Cabo Verde was the only opponent that Spain, which claimed the title for the first time in 16 years with 7 wins and 1 draw across 8 matches in the tournament, failed to defeat.
In the Round of 32, Cabo Verde's run came to an end in a hard-fought match that went into extra time against defending champion Argentina, led by "football god" Lionel Messi. They narrowly lost 2-3 after conceding an own goal for the winner.
At the center of Cabo Verde's sensation was Vozinha, who guarded the goal in all 4 matches.
Having left Portuguese second-division club Chaves before the tournament opened and entering as a free agent without a club, Vozinha recorded a total of 18 saves, including 7 against Spain in his World Cup debut.
Through this stellar performance, Vozinha edged out Unai Simon (Spain)—the tournament's Golden Glove (Best Goalkeeper) winner selected by the FIFA Technical Study Group—to earn the honor of the Dream Team goalkeeper.
Vozinha stood shoulder to shoulder with prominent players such as Messi (Argentina), who recorded 8 goals and 4 assists; Kylian Mbappe (France), who claimed the Golden Boot (Top Scorer) with 10 goals and 4 assists; Rodri (Spain), the Golden Ball winner for Best Player; and Michael Olise (France), the assist leader with 7 assists.
The only players in the Dream Team from countries that did not reach the semi-finals of this tournament are Vozinha and Norway's monster striker Erling Haaland.
Haaland, who propelled Norway to the tournament quarterfinals for the first time in history with 7 goals and 1 assist, became a member of the Dream Team with 27.5% of the vote in the striker category.
◇ Fan-Selected FIFA North and Central America World Cup Dream Team
▲ Goalkeeper (GK) = Vozinha (Cabo Verde)
▲ Defenders (DF) = Pedro Porro (Spain), Lisandro Martinez (Argentina), Dayot Upamecano (France), Marc Cucurella (Spain)
▲ Midfielders (MF) = Rodri (Spain), Michael Olise (France), Jude Bellingham (England)
▲ Forwards (FW) = Lionel Messi (Argentina), Erling Haaland (Norway), Kylian Mbappe (France)
(Photo: AP, captured from FIFA website, Yonhap News)
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