U.S. grants visa to Vozinha’s mother ahead of Uruguay match

Cape Verde goalkeeper Josimar Vozinha Dias will see his mother in Miami before his team faces Uruguay on Sunday, June 21, 2026, after U.S. officials granted Ana Candida Evora a visa and waived the fees tied to the trip. The decision turns a World Cup subplot into a family reunion, one shaped as much by immigration rules as by football.

The case had become a stark example of how quickly a global tournament can run into the realities of paperwork and cost. The U.S. Department of State initially had no record of a visa application from Evora, and the family could not afford the estimated $15,000 bond required for the process. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the situation and later said all fees had been waived consistent with official policy.

For Vozinha, the issue was personal long before it became political. The 40-year-old goalkeeper, whose full name is Josimar Vozinha Dias, helped Cape Verde earn one of the tournament’s early shocks by making seven saves in a 0-0 draw with Spain on June 15, 2026. The result was widely treated as historic for Cape Verde and a major upset against one of the tournament favourites, but it also carried an emotional cost for the veteran shot-stopper because his mother was not there to share it.

That absence gave the visa dispute unusual force. Reports said Evora, who wanted to watch her son play, could not clear the financial hurdles attached to the application, even as Cape Verde’s World Cup run drew global attention. The intervention from U.S. officials changed the terms of the story, ensuring that a mother who had been kept away by money and bureaucracy would be able to reach Miami in time for the next chapter.

Cape Verde’s Group H schedule now moves from Uruguay on Sunday to Saudi Arabia on June 27, 2026, with Vozinha carrying both the pressure of a national team breakthrough and the private relief of knowing his mother will be nearby. In a tournament built on elite competition, his case has shown how a visa can matter as much as a save.