In another Black Stars multiverse, a serious debate would be raging over the goalkeeper to start in Ghana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Madagascar on Monday, March 24 with the protagonists in this debate being Lawrence Ati Zigi and Abdul Manaf Nurudeen.
However, this isn’t the case at hand as there truly is a goal keeper’s battle going on but unlike many have expected for some time, this isn’t a battle between Ati Zigi and Manaf but one between Ati Zigi and Accra Hearts of Oak’s Benjamin Asare.
Though the sample size is small, Manaf has largely excelled in his limited appearances for the Black Stars with a penalty save against Chile in the Kirin Cup and another penalty save in a 2025 AFCON qualifier against Angola as highlight moments.
Timing is everything and Manaf’s best chance at getting a proper run as the Black Stars starting keeper was now with the numbers heavily stacked against the much fancied pair of Ati Zigi and Joseph Wollacott. However, an injury has robbed him of that chance at least in the immediate term.
In the Swiss league, Ati Zigi has conceded 40 goals in 28 games with four clean sheets while Wollacott has conceded 58 goals in 30 league games for Crawley Town in England’s League One with just three clean sheets.
Worsening the argument to start either man is the handful of shaky performances for the Black Stars with Ati Zigi’s questionable judgment in goals conceded against Central African Republic and Sudan, immediately coming to mind.
On the flip side, it is fair to say that Benjamin Asare is a statistic darling as the 32 year old has aced the numbers game since making his mark at Accra Great Olympics.
In the 2023-2024 season that ended in the Dade Boys getting relegated from the Ghana Premier League for the umpteenth time in as many league campaigns, Asare kept a league leading 16 clean sheets while conceding 27 goals.
Since signing for Hearts of Oak, Asare has registered 12 clean sheets in 18 league games according to Transfermrkt and is gunning to break Abdulai Iddrisu’s record of 18 clean sheets in an 18 team Ghana League campaign.
Even after gate crashing the goalkeeper’s party, first with his call up and following it up with his shock pick as a starter in a World Cup qualifier against Chad, Asare delivered a hallmark clean sheet as Ghana run over Chad to the tune of a 5-0 win.
Styles make fights and while the boxing world mourns the passing of the great George Foreman, it is imperative that the Black Stars adapt their style to avoid losing to Madagascar the way Foreman did against the great Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle.
Beating Chad was nothing but a high end training session for the Black Stars and should be treated as an isolated case that requires some significant tweaks to be made to hold off the Malagasy threat on Monday and this is where Ati Zigi has the leg up on Asare.
FIT ISSUES
For starters, Asare doesn’t even fit Black Stars head coach Otto Addo’s playing system that requires the goalkeeper to start the attack by playing out from the back. Benjamin Asare isn’t comfortable with the ball at his feet and he has shown this in Hearts of Oak games and more importantly, in Ghana’s 3-0 loss to Nigeria in a 2025 CHAN playoff tie.
Trailing 2-0, Asare’s pass to a teammate was intercepted in the direct lead up to Nigeria’s third goal to end Ghana’s quest to qualify to the CHAN. In the Black Stars win over Chad, Asare wasn’t pressed by the opposition and had a field day passing to his teammates.
That is going to be different against a Madagascar side that is coached by Corentin Martins who led Mauritania to their first ever AFCON [in 2019] and followed it up with another qualification to compete in the 2021 edition.
Playing against Madagascar requires a change from the back four system the Black Stars used at the Accra Stadium to a three man centre back system with Gideon Mensah and Kingsley Schindler- the likely starting lateral defenders- deployed as wingbacks to counter the high press.
Playing with a goalkeeper whose passing is suspect virtually neutralizes Asare’s biggest strength as a goalkeeper- making point blank saves-as Madagascar could easily win possession off poor passes high up the pitch, transition from defense to attack close to goal quickly and inevitably increase the quality and volume of their goal scoring chances.
QUALITY OF ASARE’S NUMBERS
The Ghana Premier League’s quality of offensive play is very questionable particularly in comparison to the Swiss League and even England’s League One and when viewed critically, Asare’s numbers aren’t so impressive when the quality of strikers, quality of chances and the quality and volume of shots created in the Ghana League is considered.
Putting Asare’s numbers in perspective, his patented run of clean sheets have come in the Ghana Premier League that was ranked 92nd in the world by the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) at the end of December 2024. The GPL ranked lower than top flight leagues in Thailand , Kosovo, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Venezuela.
Making matters worse for Asare, Chad’s level of play on Friday was worse than a Ghana League tie and that simply won’t fly in the face of Madagascar’s quality.
ATI ZIGI ACES THE EXPERIENCE TEST
Benjamin Asare was every bit a home boy when Ghana played against Chad at the Accra Sports Stadium. The venue has largely been his home since his days competing for Great Olympics and that is aside Asare being an Accra guy who enjoyed partisan support even at training sessions.
However, how would he fare in Morocco with night temperatures set to hover around 15 Degrees Celsius away from home in what would be only his second Black Stars debut against a more quality opponent?
On the other hand, Lawrence Ati Zigi is quite well experienced with 28 Black Stars appearances including starting all three Ghana games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar to his credit. Ghana is under a ton of pressure to get its 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification right after failing to qualify to the 2025 AFCON and cannot take unguarded risks.
Starting Benjamin Asare against Chad is one thing but doing same against a Madagascar side that Ghana struggled to beat in Kumasi and looks even better under Corentin Martins, is an unnecessary risk Otto Addo should avoid. As such, Lawrence Ati Zigi should be the starter against Madagascar not Benjamin Asare.
