Vozinha and other unsung heroes who've made a name for themselves at this World Cup

[p]Those four incredible players are not only vying to win the Golden Boot for the tournament, but they hold the hopes of their respective nations in the palm of their hands.[/p][h2]Vozinha announces himself[/h2][p]To be considered the best, of course, you have to do the business in the biggest games, and thus far, that quartet have lived up to all the pre-tournament expectations.[/p][p]But what about those players for whom there were no expectations? The players who weren't largely known outside of their own countries, but who have helped write the narrative for the 2026 World Cup.[/p][embed guid="a4157989-13b1-479a-b432-ab581bc09cd2" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2066581266728620233?lang=en" social-type="twitter" /][p]Take [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-verde/MocyWdm7/"]Cape Verde[/a]'s Josimar Jose Evora Dias, more commonly known as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vozinha/Q9F1vw7H/"]Vozinha[/a], for example.[/p][p]A 40-year-old goalkeeper who has spent the best part of his career in the lower reaches of the football pyramid, aside from a stint in the Portuguese league for Gil Vicente.[/p][h2]Seven saves and a man-of-the-match award[/h2][p]His and his colleagues' first assignment at the World Cup was a Group H game against one of the pre-tournament favourites, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/spain/bLyo6mco/"]Spain[/a].[/p][p]An expectation of one of the most one-sided games in World Cup history wasn't without foundation, and to a large extent, that's exactly what came to pass.[/p][embed guid="7b038e6b-df24-4fe6-b889-7173a1f262d3" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2066590395719389207?lang=en" social-type="twitter" /][p]However, for all of their dominance, which included 74% possession and 23 attempts at goal, La Roja were unable to beat Vozinha, who pulled off an astonishing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/cape-verde-MocyWdm7/spain-bLyo6mco/?mid=Iiqjm5Pq"]seven saves in the match[/a] to help win the Man of the Match award.[/p][p]Suffice it to say that a new hero was announced to the football world on that day, but Vozinha wasn't done by any means.[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /][h2]Pina's stunner is Cape Verde's first-ever World Cup goal[/h2][p]Another clean sheet against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/saudi-arabia/biSY8ox4/"]Saudi Arabia[/a] helped Cape Verde into the knockout stages, during which he made another eight saves against reigning champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a], ensuring that the minnows took La Albiceleste all the way to extra time before bowing out of the competition with an army of new admirers.[/p][p]Vozinha's teammate, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/goncalves-pereira-de-pina-kevin/ljD3tZSO/"]Kevin Pina[/a], will always remember his sensational free-kick against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uruguay/xMk44orG/"]Uruguay[/a], which gave Cape Verde their first-ever World Cup goal.[/p][embed guid="d41230db-765e-4d7e-b75a-7ec68361c856" url="https://x.com/FIFAcom/status/2068833959882916176" social-type="twitter" /][p]There looked to be little danger when Pina strode up to the ball some 30 yards out, but a poor defensive wall saw his effort find the net and spark wild celebrations among the supporters and on the bench.[/p][p]Whilst that may have been his personal highlight, winning 81.8% of his aerial duels and 83.3% of his defensive one-on-ones shouldn't go unnoticed either.[/p][p]Ditto an 81% pass completion across the tournament, and an average of 10.4 ball recoveries per game.[/p][h2]Galarza deserves recognition despite Paraguayan shenanigans[/h2][p]They weren't the only unsung heroes to get their time in the spotlight at this tournament, either.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/paraguay/YaNlqp6j/"]Paraguay[/a] will, unfortunately, be remembered for their incredibly aggressive tactics against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a], before exiting the competition, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/galarza-matias/v7raiufc/"]Matias Galarza[/a] deserves to be recognised for his brilliant contributions during their matches.[/p][p]The central midfielder could hardly be said to have done more to help Paraguay, including winning the most defensive duels (an average of 5.95 per game) when compared to the 95 other players in the 95th percentile (when a player is in the top 5% of their position group for a specific metric).[/p][embed guid="b49942cf-212a-4afd-8f7b-35b12763f0e2" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2068205145553289716?lang=en" social-type="twitter" /][p]Galarza also managed an average of 8.2 ball recoveries per match and the winning of 1.64 defensive one-on-one duels, the latter metric putting him right at the very top of the group.[/p][p]2.87 offensive duels won per match on average is another statistic that makes for good reading for the player, along with 73.39% of his passes finding their target.[/p][p]Very simply, a magnificent all-round effort from the 24-year-old.[/p][h2]Morocco owe a debt to Saibari[/h2][p]One other player who has caught the eye unexpectedly is [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/morocco/IDKYO3R8/"]Morocco's[/a] attacking midfielder, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saibari-ismael/WzSmqNMQ/"]Ismael Saibari[/a].[/p][p]His energy and commitment have been two of the features of their matches so far, and with 2.19 shots on average per game at the World Cup, he has one of the best returns of those players in the same position at the tournament.[/p][embed guid="d0ffb965-1846-439f-9ab7-598e107e8acd" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2068130595293569433?lang=en" social-type="twitter" /][p]3.94 touches in the box and 75% scoring effectiveness have also marked him out as one of the success stories that sit proudly alongside those big names who generally write the headlines.[/p][p]One question remains, and that is... is there time for anyone else to emerge from the shadows and make a real name for themselves over the next few games?[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]