Former boxing world champion Joshua “The Hitter” Clottey has questioned the decision to drop goalkeeper Benjamin Asare for Ghana’s Round of 32 clash against Colombia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting the Hearts of Oak shot-stopper had done enough to retain his place.
Ghana’s World Cup campaign ended with a 1-0 defeat to Colombia after Jhon Arias scored the only goal in the 14th minute at the Kansas City Stadium, eliminating the Black Stars before the Round of 16.
Asare had been one of Ghana’s standout performers after replacing the injured Lawrence Ati-Zigi during the opening group match against Panama.
The 32-year-old inspired Ghana to a 1-0 victory before producing another composed display in a goalless draw against England, becoming the first Ghanaian goalkeeper to keep clean sheets in his first two World Cup appearances.
Asare, however, conceded twice in Ghana’s final group game defeat to Croatia, and head coach Carlos Queiroz restored the recovered Ati-Zigi for the knockout tie against Colombia.
Ati-Zigi made seven saves, including three from clear-cut chances, but could not prevent Ghana’s exit.
Speaking on his weekly boxing vlog, Clottey said Asare deserved to remain Ghana’s first-choice goalkeeper after his impressive performances.
“I normally don’t talk about football, but I can’t do boxing today because we all watched the match. That’s why I’m talking about football today,” Clottey said.
“What I don't understand is that Benjamin Asare was doing very well in the post and should have been kept in the goal. God is favouring that guy to become somebody, but humans want to stop it. We should stop doing these things,” he said.
“I’m so angry because Benjamin was doing very well, and I’m sad we lost. Boxing is not doing very well, and football is also not doing well. We have to be very careful because somebody did well in two matches and even though he conceded twice against Croatia, it wasn’t his fault,” he added.
Former Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan, however, backed the coaching staff’s decision, insisting changes after a defeat are a normal part of football.
“When a team loses a game, a coach can make changes,” Gyan said on Supersport.
“Benjamin Asare is very composed. Wherever he is, you can see the ball comes there. He kept Ghana alive so many times in the qualifiers,” he said.
“Asare is a very good goalkeeper; he knows how to calculate. He is very composed. If you have a keeper like this to keep Ghana in the competition, it is good.”
