The World Cup has always produced unlikely heroes. In 2026, they will become a social media sensation.
The latest example is Cape Verdean goalkeeper Josimar José Evora Díaz, known as Bosinha. Although he played in Monday’s match against Spain, he has around 50,000 followers on Instagram and his 19-year career is largely unknown to general soccer fans. But his fan following soared to 12 million after he helped Cape Verde hold one of the competition’s favorites to a 0-0 draw in the country’s first World Cup match.
His performance in the game made enough of an impact on the internet. The 40-year-old goalkeeper made seven saves against Spain, who had 27 shots but failed to score. Vosinya was named man of the match and became a digital darling.
Much of his early attention came from Brazilian streamer Casimiro “Cazé” Miguel and his platform CazéTV, a digital sports broadcaster with rights to all 104 World Cup games in Brazil. The channel, which has more than 31 million YouTube subscribers, is known for its more stream-like broadcast style built around fan participation.
During the match, Kadze noticed that Vosinya had a relatively small number of followers on Instagram and asked viewers to follow him. Bosinha’s follower count went from about 50,000 before the game to more than 1 million just after the final whistle, rising to nearly 10 million in less than 24 hours, surpassing the likes of NBA superstar Victor Wembaneyama and Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes.
Mashable Trend Report
His sudden fame has not only boosted his metrics; After the match, Bosinha made headlines when he emotionally revealed that his mother was unable to attend the match due to visa issues and costs. Now, following his story, the U.S. State Department has stepped in and said it is working to help his family with the visa process.
Vosinya may be the latest headliner to make headlines at this tournament, but she’s not the first. New Zealand defender Tim Paine has also been the subject of a similar campaign after Argentine influencer Valen Scarsini, also known as El Scalso, set out to find the World Cup’s “least known player” before the tournament began. At the time, Payne had less than 5,000 followers on Instagram, but after Scarsini encouraged viewers to support Payne, Payne’s followers grew to 6 million.
Australia’s Kai Trewyn also rose to prominence after creator RubikayTV promoted a campaign to make him the “Cristiano Ronaldo of the World Cup”, with his number of followers soaring from around 3,000 to more than 100,000. And Curaçao reserve goalkeeper Trevor Dornbusch has amassed tens of thousands of followers thanks to the support of soccer influencer Feargo Ball.
This trend clearly reflects how this World Cup is being distributed and watched. Earlier this year, FIFA named TikTok its first-ever preferred platform for World Cup video content, signing a deal with YouTube that allows broadcasters to live stream the first 10 minutes of each match. These deals have made tournaments more accessible to viewers who follow the games through clips, livestreams, creator comments, and social feeds, as well as traditional broadcasts.
In this developing environment, players don’t need to be famous before kick-off to be famous by the final whistle. A great performance, a well-timed shoutout, or an organized fan push can quickly transform a lesser-known player into the most visible figure in the tournament online.