ISTANBUL / Ahmad Hasan / AA

Cape Verde goalkeeper 'Vozinha' was selected in the dream team of the 2026 World Cup, as voted by fans, in a major surprise as he edged out Spain's Unai Simón, the winner of the tournament's Best Goalkeeper award.

The International Football Federation (FIFA) published on Wednesday, via its account on the American platform 'X', a list of 11 players across all positions representing only 6 teams out of the 48 that participated in the tournament, with no Arab players included.

Vozinha topped the goalkeepers' list with 39.6% of the votes, following a series of outstanding performances with Cape Verde, which participated in the World Cup for the first time and exited in the round of 32, earning the veteran goalkeeper a place in the dream team.

The 40-year-old goalkeeper, who was without a club after leaving Portuguese second-division side Chaves before the World Cup, made 7 saves to lead Cape Verde to a goalless draw with Spain, who later won the title.

Vozinha also contributed with his brilliance in forcing Argentina, which reached the final, to extra time in the round of 32 before the match was decided 3-2 with difficulty.

The lineup also included Norway's Erling Haaland, who received 27.5% of the votes, after leading his country to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time.

The Manchester City striker scored 7 goals in 5 matches, including two when Norway eliminated five-time champion Brazil 2-1 in the round of 16, before their run ended against England.

The rest of the lineup consisted of players from the four teams that reached the tournament's semifinals: Spain, Argentina, England and France.

The lineup was as follows:

Goalkeeper: Vozinha (Cape Verde).

Defense: Pedro Porro (Spain), Lisandro Martínez (Argentina), Dayot Upamecano (France), Marc Cucurella (Spain).

Midfielders: Rodri (Spain), Michael Olise (France), Jude Bellingham (England).

Attack: Lionel Messi (Argentina), Erling Haaland (Norway), Kylian Mbappé (France).