Arlington – In three matches, chances created but his score sheet still blank. Ange-Yoan Bonny is protected by his coach, Emerse Faé, but the Inter Milan player is clearly under the spotlight. A player with a good header and very strong at moving with or without the ball, Bonny is also very technical.
He has a nose for goal, but he can also start attacks from far back. In short, he has a wide range, but since his first match with the Elephants in Nantes in a friendly against France (a 2-1 win) on June 4, 2026, up to the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, he still hasn’t shown what makes a true center-forward: scoring goals. Under fire from criticism on social media in his country, he prefers to keep things in perspective.
“I am a player who likes to combine with others, who likes to have fun, who likes to dribble, who above all loves to enjoy himself. A modern player. You have to do things at the right pace. If you’re too late, the move doesn’t get to the end. If you’re too early, it’s not good either. So it’s important to have the right rhythm, just like the right notes in music.“, he explained to the media to explain his silence in front of goal.
In short, you need a system and teammates adapted to help you settle in.
The factors explaining his drought
Coming in with a good reputation before joining Côte d’Ivoire for the World Cup, Ange Yohan Bonny, the Elephants’ striker, has remained silent in his three appearances so far. He is certainly a good focal point, but he hasn’t delivered in front of the Ecuadorian, German, and Curaçaoan goalkeepers he faced in the group stage.
While the Elephants’ collective situation is bright, even magical, with this very first qualification for the Round of 16 in a World Cup final tournament in four attempts, Yohan Bonny’s individual situation is not necessarily as positive—him, the classic striker. The goal scorer. And a striker, a real one, is never fully satisfied even when his team wins but he doesn’t score. That’s just how it is. Professional strikers are “selfish” in the good sense.
His individual performance
Starting twice and coming on as a substitute once, after three matches, Yohan Bonny still hasn’t found the happiness of scoring. And yet, it’s not his technical or tactical qualities that are lacking.
Even without scoring a single goal, Bonny has always weighed on opposing defenses. Through his relentless work rate, hold-up play, physical presence, positioning, constant movement and repositioning. Even with his defensive work. The Inter striker’s silence is therefore not his own fault. In this World Cup, this young man has rarely been ideally served. Despite his incessant runs.
About the Elephants’ teamwork
In three group matches, Côte d’Ivoire changed its starting eleven each time. A different defense. A different midfield. A different attack. An eternal tactical and therefore technical restart that does not necessarily benefit a striker. A lack of collective fluidity that also does not favor the offensive breakout of a striker.
“The problem is the style of play chosen by the Elephants. The team does not play for its strikers. It’s a hybrid collective game where anyone can score at any time. Goals can come from anywhere. There isn’t a visible and clear tactic that prioritizes offense through a striker. Strikers have to “fend for themselves” to score. And young Yohan Bonny is no exception to this “rule” of tactics. Frustrating for any striker“, explains former editor-in-chief of the Ivorian newspaper Expression, Kipré T.
One of the problems Côte d’Ivoire must solve to truly step up is the tactical setup. The Ivorian game does not favor verticality, depth. It’s more lateral than vertical. Very often, Ivorian strikers make attacking runs and the midfielders choose the lateral option or even play backwards. Bonny, Wahi, Guessan—which of these strikers has already scored at this World Cup? Are they necessarily all bad?
Under Faé, the strikers are not the team’s top scorers. The vast majority of Ivorian goals come from midfielders, wide players or defenders.
It’s clear. Yohan Bonny is by no means a bad striker. Quite the contrary. He is simply a victim of a tactical choice that disadvantages the type of striker he is. Maybe a partnership with another striker who moves more in tight spaces, like Wahi, would give new life to Bonny’s wet gunpowder.
