By Toby TAIWO
FIFA has been faulted for handing the Man of the Match MOTM for last night’s Ghana vs England encounter to England player Jude Bellingham.
Experts and followers took to social media to chide FIFA, informing that Benjamin Asare of Ghana deserved the Player of the Match award after keeping a second clean sheet in the 2026 World Cup.
Interestingly, Asare is Ghana’s second keeper until their first choice was injured in their first encounter.
He is 33 years old. He plays his club football at Accra Hearts of Oak in the Ghana Premier League. He has never played in Europe. Not even once.
Yet he is the man standing between Ghana and the world right now.
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It started in the qualifiers. While Ghana’s foreign-based keepers took the headlines, Asare was quietly doing his job at home, featuring in six qualification matches, conceding just once, helping the Black Stars punch their ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
He arrived in North America as the backup. Lawrence Ati-Zigi was the number one. Asare was just supposed to be there, just in case.
Then God had other plans.
Against Panama in Ghana’s opening group game, Ati-Zigi went down injured in the first half. Asare warmed up on the touchline. He came on at half-time with Ghana leading 1-0 and the pressure of a World Cup debut on his shoulders.
He kept the clean sheet. Ghana won.
Then came England. England’s starting lineup was filled with players from the Premier League, La Liga, and the Bundesliga. Harry Kane. Jude Bellingham. Declan Rice. England had 78% possession and 19 shots.
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Asare made six saves. England scored zero.
He became the first goalkeeper from the Ghana Premier League to start a FIFA World Cup match for the Black Stars. Not just to play, to start against England.
No team has avoided defeat while attempting so few shots in a World Cup game since at least 1966.
Ghana had 22% possession and two shots in total. They did not lose.
Ghana have four points from two games and are on the brink of the Round of 16 for the first time since 2010.
The man holding the wall is not from the Premier League. He is not from Ligue 1 or the Bundesliga.
He goes home to the Ghana Premier League after this.
Benjamin Asare is proof that greatness does not require a European postcode.
