Among the big stories left by the 2026 World Cup, one detail emerged that thousands of fans could not stop commenting on.
Every time the cameras focused on Cape Verde’s goalkeeper, many people asked the same question: what happened to his eye?
All kinds of theories began circulating on social media. Some thought it was an old injury caused by football, others believed he had taken a hard blow years earlier, and there were even those who claimed he had partially lost his vision.
However, the reality is very different.
Goalkeeper Vozinha does not have a battle wound or a sports-related aftereffect; what he has is a pterygium, an eye condition popularly known as “surfer’s eye”. It is an abnormal growth of tissue over the surface of the eye that usually appears after years of exposure to the sun, wind, and dust.
Although in many cases it only causes discomfort or redness, when it progresses too far it can affect vision. For this reason, specialists explain that the definitive solution is usually surgery to remove the affected tissue.
What surprised many people most was discovering that, despite this condition, Vozinha completed an extraordinary World Cup and became one of Cape Verde’s standout players, making several of the tournament’s most memorable saves.
Just as happened a few days ago with the marks on Kylian Mbappé’s neck or the scars on Neymar’s leg, one image was enough for the internet to build all kinds of theories… until the real explanation appeared.