The magnitude of Cape Verde’s stunning 0-0 draw with Spain at the World Cup on Monday may seem to be unexplainable in words, but to explain the enormity of it all in numbers, note that after the match, Vozinha, the heroic goalkeeper of the tiny island nation, saw a jump of more than 20,000 per cent in his Instagram followers.

The 40-year-old’s following on the social media platform exploded from around 50,000 people before the game to more than 9 million less than 24 hours after it.

Spain fired 27 shots on the Cape Verde goal, not a single one went in. Vozinha made seven saves during 90 minutes of unbelievable resistance and at the end of it all, he, along with his team of bravehearts, attained immortality.

The veteran keeper, a journeyman, was everywhere as the Spanish team and their fans became increasingly frustrated, despite dominating possession. Not even the second-half entrance of young superstar Lamine Yamal could crack the code to get past Vozinha and the Cape Verde defence.

As the final whistle blew, Vozinha hunched over near his net and cried before being embraced by his teammates. A point against Spain, the 2010 champions and one of the tournament favourites this year, is perhaps equal to the world title for the audacious and ambitious Cape Verdeans.

“He was overwhelmed with emotion,” Cape Verde manager Bubista said. “He is quite an experienced player and has struggled throughout all of these years to be here at this world stage. It was also a cry of resilience.”

Vozinha said he was overcome by emotions thinking about his loved ones who were unable to see his finest performance — his grandparents who had raised him, and his mother. His grandparents died a few years ago. And his mother had been unable to gather the money in time to secure a visa to enter the US, Vozinha said.

“I work all my life for this, for this moment, for this dream,” Vozinha said.

The word “vozinha” is Portuguese for “little grandmother,” and the goalkeeper said he was given the nickname by older kids who would beat him and then laugh, saying he was going home to complain to his grandparents. Years later, he took on the nickname after someone else in his club had the same first name, Josimar.

His father, however, wanted to name him Valdano, after the Argentine striker Jorge Valdano, who used to play for Real Madrid. “But the authorities didn’t allow it,” Vozinha told ESPN Brasil.

“I would tell 18-year-old Vozinha to be really proud of himself,” Vozinha said after the game.

With inputs from AP