'World Cup Sensation' Cape Verde Hero Vozinha Has New Sea Slug Species Named After Him

Cape Verde Goalkeeper Rises to Global Stardom, Leading the Team’s Remarkable Run
Spanish Biologist Calls It "A Tribute to His World Cup Performance"

The name of Cape Verde national football team goalkeeper Vozinha (40), who rose to global stardom through the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup, will now be immortalized as the scientific name of a newly discovered sea slug species.

According to international media outlets such as the BBC on the 11th (Korean time), Spanish biologist Professor Jesus Ortea has named a new species of sea slug found in the Caribbean "Aldisa vozinha."

Ortea, an emeritus professor at the University of Oviedo in Spain, stated, "I wanted to commemorate the remarkable performance Cape Verde showed against Spain in their World Cup debut, with Vozinha at the heart of it." Professor Ortea, a marine biologist who has long studied the waters around Cape Verde, was awarded a medal of honor by the Cape Verdean government in 2023.

Cape Verde goalkeeper Bozinha is blocking a shot during the Round of 32 match of the 2026 CONCACAF World Cup against Argentina at Miami Stadium, Florida, USA, on the 4th (Korean time). Photo by Yonhap News

He explained that the reddish color of this sea slug also evokes the nickname of the Spanish national football team, "La Roja" (The Red Squad), and described it as "a tribute to Vozinha's performance against Spain."

Professor Ortea has previously named newly discovered marine species after Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas and legendary Spanish striker Quini.

The African island nation of Cape Verde, with a population of about 580,000, made its first-ever appearance at the World Cup finals in this CONCACAF World Cup. The team drew 0-0 with tournament favorites Spain in the group stage, recorded a 2-2 draw with Uruguay, and tied with Saudi Arabia in the final match, advancing to the Round of 32 with an undefeated record of three draws.

In the Round of 32, Cape Verde battled the defending champions Argentina into extra time, but suffered a narrow 2-3 defeat due to an own goal that decided the match. Although their tournament ended with their very first knockout stage game, the team's competitiveness against some of the world's strongest sides left a strong impression on football fans.

Vozinha, in particular, started all four matches of the tournament, making seven crucial saves against Spain alone and blocking numerous decisive shots throughout the competition, leading Cape Verde’s remarkable run. His Instagram followers, which numbered around 50,000 before the World Cup, soared to over 28 million after the tournament concluded.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.