Asare, Vozinha: African goalkeepers who ‘shocked the world’ at the World Cup

GhanaWeb Feature by Benjamin Sackey

Several African goalkeepers made headlines with standout performances against top teams, earning praise across the globe.

The goalkeepers include Benjamin Asare from Ghana, Yassine Bounou from Morocco, Vozinha from Cabo Verde, and Ronn Williams from South Africa.

Among them, Vozinha stood out with his excellent displays against heavyweights Argentina and Spain, which earned him a massive following on social media.

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Others broke records for saves in a single World Cup and ranked among the best based on their performances in safeguarding the posts.

This GhanaWeb Sports feature highlights the goalkeepers who excelled at the tournament and made the continent proud, even though all African teams were eliminated after the quarter-final stage.

Vozinha (Cabo Verde)

Cabo Verde’s Vozinha won several Man of the Match awards and earned a Sofascore rating of 9.7. He made seven saves, six of which came from shots inside the box. His goals-prevented figure of 1.46 reflected the difference between a 0-0 draw and a likely Spain win. He also claimed three high balls, a vital skill on a night when Spain delivered 36 crosses.

Vozinha was tidy with the ball, completing 29 of 42 passes and hitting 10 accurate long balls from 23 attempts. He registered 65 touches, often acting as a pressure valve and organizer when Spain camped on the edge of the area.

Against Argentina, he produced a stunning 73rd-minute save from a Lionel Messi free kick, denying the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner multiple times. Vozinha has since gained nearly 29 million Instagram followers, reflecting how quickly Cape Verde’s run captured global attention.

Yassine Bounou (Morocco)

Once again, Bounou became Morocco’s hero in knockout football. Against the Netherlands, he produced decisive saves in the penalty shootout to send Morocco into the quarter-finals for the second consecutive time.

Later, against France, Bounou became the first goalkeeper in FIFA World Cup history to save four penalties in a single match, including denying Kylian Mbappé.

His total of seven saved penalties in World Cup play now places him ahead of several legendary goalkeepers, including Harald Schumacher, Iker Casillas, and Dominik Livaković. He was Morocco’s highest-rated player with a Sofascore rating of 8.0.

Ronn Williams (South Africa)

Williams recorded a shutout against South Korea, becoming only the second South African goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at the World Cup, ending a 24-year drought since Andre Arendse’s feat against Slovenia in 2002.

Against Canada, Williams shattered a six-decade-old record by completing 77 successful passes in a single World Cup match. This surpassed the previous benchmark set by Germany’s Manuel Neuer, who managed 51 passes against Japan in 2022.

Benjamin Asare (Ghana)

According to Sofascore, Asare finished the group stage with an average rating of 7.20, placing him 25th among all goalkeepers at the tournament. He made eight saves, including four from shots inside the penalty area, recorded two clean sheets, and faced no penalties. He featured against Panama, England, and Croatia.

The Hearts of Oak goalkeeper ranked as the sixth-best shot-stopper at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with a rating of 7.61. At one point, he climbed as high as fifth before Portugal’s Diogo Costa overtook him with a standout performance against Colombia.

Statistics from FBref further underline his efficiency: Asare faced 10 shots on target during the group stage and saved eight of them, giving him an impressive save percentage of 80 percent.

SB/JKB

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