Meet the Braider Behind Cabo Verde’s Intricate 2026 FIFA World Cup Hairstyles

03.07.2026, 12:24 allure.com

Every FIFA World Cup, on a stage that over one billion watch, new heroes emerge. This year, all eyes have been on Cabo Verde (commonly anglicized as Cape Verde). The team, hailing from the archipelago off the coast of West Africa, has grown to represent the ultimate underdog. It’s not just the Blue Sharks’ first time in the World Cup, but they made history as the smallest country by population and land size to advance to the tournament’s knockout stage. Eyes aren’t just on their performance—but on their hair, too.

Watch any Cabo Verde match, and you’ll find players with their coils defined to helical perfection or their curls flat twisted into intricate geometric patterns. A small roster of team braiders is behind these looks, including Lorreta Rocha, whose vlogs about traveling with the team have gone viral on both TikTok and Instagram. She’s been behind Blue Shark hairstyles from Garry Mendes Rodrigues to Sidny Lopes Cabral, Dailon Livramento, and Kevin Pina, who scored Cabo Verde’s first-ever goal in the World Cup while playing Uruguay. Each of them brings their own flare to the matches, but they do share some preferred trends.

Sidny Lopes Cabral during the Cabo Verde match against Spain in Atlanta, Georgia.

A closer view of Cabral's braids.

“The style that's in right now is flat twists. For most of the players, that’s what they want. For a lot of other players whose hair is not long enough for braids, they've asked me to work with their coils to make sure they're hydrated and defined,” Rocha tells Allure. Rodrigues, she says, “is the kind of player who needs his hair done every week since the games follow that schedule. Because of his texture, there are particular styles he likes doing to make sure they’ll last. Where they're playing, it’s very humid, and there's a lot of sweating.” For Gilson Benchimol Tavares, it was helpful to restyle his locs in order to keep them secure and out of his face during the game.

“While people may look at it as something that is trivial, to have a braider or to have your hair done before every game… it has a big impact on how the players feel, especially knowing that they're on the biggest stage that you can be on as an athlete,” Rocha says. It can be important for players to express themselves while in uniform and that these styles also carry cultural significance. “As an athlete myself, I know the [power of] being able to step on the field or a court and feel like, ‘I look like I’m the shit, so I’m going to play like I’m the shit.’” (There are whole studies showing this is real, by the way.)

Garry Mendes Rodrigues playing against Uruguay in Houston, Texas.

Dailon Livramento playing against Saudi Arabia in Houston, Texas.

The 34-year-old Rocha, who was born and raised in Cabo Verde, started doing hair at 13 before playing for the national women’s basketball team at 17. Those skills earned her a scholarship to go stateside at 18 and play NCAA Division II ball at Southern New Hampshire University. Fast forward to 2022, she pivoted careers, transitioning from managing finances for a Massachusetts non-profit to starting her hair styling business in Boston. Technically, this is Rocha’s second time being a World Cup team braider; she worked the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Japan.

Rocha’s close friend, Vozinha, helped her secure the gig. Yes, that Vozinha, the 40-year-old breakout star goalie who became an overnight sensation after blocking Spain for a total of seven saves and helping the game result in a draw. That won Cabo Verde’s first-ever point in a FIFA World Cup. “With the country being so small, most of us athletes kind of know each other and follow each other's journey,” Rocha says of the goalie, born Josimar José Évora Dias. “The moment they got here in the U.S., they settled in Connecticut, and Vozinha reached out like, ‘Some of the guys need a braider. Would you be willing to come and do their hair?’” She immediately said yes. (You heard it here first: Vozinha has joked about getting braids, but Rocha says to not expect him to ditch his curly taper fade anytime soon.)

Vozinha waves to the crowd after the match against Saudi Arabia.

Nevertheless, Rocha knows both her work and her home have unprecedented reach. “I have always always been a big defender and upholder of my people, my culture, and my country. This is not new for me, but the biggest thing that could ever happen to us is happening right now,” she says.

On the job, the day-to-day can be chaotic. The hardest part, Rocha says, is not having a set time for anything, which isn’t easy for someone who usually likes to have every minute planned. “I spend most of my day waiting on them instead of actually doing hair because their schedule is so hectic. It's a lot of teamwork between me and the players to make sure that everybody's hair is done,” she says. The braider usually has a checked bag in tow, packed with an assortment of styling classics and go-to products like Magic Fingers, Being’s leave-in conditioner, and Mielle’s mousse. Then, she’ll set up shop in whatever hotel the team is staying at and get the looks done. Sometimes, when players are running between practice and events, she may pre-treat or create parts on the scalp before finishing later. Some looks take just over an hour, while the most involved ones can go up to four hours. Getting the job done, she says, is all about right staggering and sporadic scheduling.

Close-ups of Dailon Livramento's and Sidny Lopes Cabral's braids.

“Doing somebody's hair is a spiritual practice,” Rocha says. “There's a lot of spiritual significance in our hair and in who touches our hair. What I try to focus on is imparting as much positive energy as possible. I feel like I am able to understand and relate a lot of what they're going through as a former athlete, the pressure, the focus. I can sense when a player is getting in the zone. I can measure when to step in and when to step out.”

If and when Cabo Verde is done at the 2026 FIFA World Cup—which is happening across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico and wraps with a final match on July 19—Rocha will return to Boston and continue her work there. For those who live nearby, she offers natural hairstyling appointments for everything from root braids to microloc installations, braids, and general styling.

“There are three versions of me in this moment right now: the former athlete, the very proud Cabo Verdean woman, and the business owner,” Rocha says. “I'm not done processing. I think it's going to take the tournament actually ending for me to be able to process. But the main feeling is a lot of pride, a sense of, finally. Finally people see what I’ve always talked about when I’m so loud and proud of my country.”

Rocha at the Cabo Verde game against Uruguay.

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