'Messi hugged me and said, You are great': Cape Verde hero Vozinha

Cape Verde's fairytale FIFA World Cup journey may have come to an end against Argentina, but goalkeeper Vozinha walked away with a memory he says he will cherish for the rest of his life.

After producing a string of outstanding saves against the defending champions, the veteran goalkeeper received an emotional embrace and words of encouragement from Lionel Messi, before the Argentina captain agreed to swap shirts with him after the match.

Messi's words after the final whistle

Speaking after the Round of 32 clash, Vozinha revealed what happened when he approached the eight time Ballon d'Or winner following the final whistle.

"I went up to Messi after the game. He hugged me and said, 'You are great. Your people should be proud of you.' That was incredible for me. Hearing words like that from someone like Leo Messi means a lot to me," Vozinha said, as quoted by La Tercera.

The Cape Verde captain then asked Messi if they could exchange shirts, a request the Argentine happily accepted.

"I thanked him and said, 'Thank you, Leo. You are the best.' Then I asked if we could swap shirts. Leo said he would give it to me in the tunnels after the interview."

Cape Verde pushed Argentina all the way

Although Argentina eventually booked their place in the Round of 16 with a dramatic 3-2 extra time victory, Cape Verde earned widespread admiration for refusing to back down against the world champions.

Messi opened the scoring in the 29th minute with his landmark 20th World Cup goal, but Cape Verde responded twice to force the tie into extra time. Argentina eventually found the winner in the 111th minute to end the tournament debutants' historic run.

Vozinha was once again at the heart of the performance, producing several outstanding saves to frustrate Argentina's star studded attack.

A tournament to remember

The 40 year old finishes the tournament as one of its standout goalkeepers. Across four matches, he made 18 saves and recorded a save percentage of 78.3 despite facing 74 shots.

Cape Verde also made history by reaching the knockout stages on their World Cup debut, qualifying ahead of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia before pushing Argentina to the brink.

Reflecting on the campaign, Vozinha said the team had every reason to be proud despite the heartbreak.

"We played against the current world champions and had the opportunity to win the game. We have to be very satisfied and proud. Obviously we are sad because we didn't want our run to end here, but I am grateful to my teammates, the coaching staff, the federation and all the fans who made such a huge effort to support us."

Looking ahead, the veteran believes this is only the beginning for Cape Verde.

"We have a fantastic group with a lot of quality. Hopefully these young players will soon be playing in the best leagues in the world."