Former Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony says the national team’s attacking players face a difficult challenge as new coach Hervé Renard prepares to begin his tenure.
Bony, who won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with the Elephants, believes the country’s wide players have become some of its most important attacking figures, making the role of the central striker particularly demanding.
“For some time now, our best players in the national team have been the wingers. A striker needs to be resilient and perform well, know how to be patient, wait for his chance, and adapt to them.
“It’s very difficult. If you don’t assert yourself, if you can’t manage the environment, if you don’t show your ego, it’s complicated ,” said the 2015 African champion before continuing.
The comments come as Ivory Coast prepares for its first international matches under Renard, who was appointed during the summer to replace Emerse Faé.
Renard’s first competitive assignments will come in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, with Ivory Coast scheduled to host Ghana on 24 September before travelling to face Somalia five days later.
The Elephants will then face Cameroon in a prestigious friendly on 3 October.
Bony, now a consultant for Ivorian television channel NCI, was speaking to Afrik-Foot ahead of Renard’s squad announcement and reflected on Ivory Coast’s campaign at the most recent World Cup.
The former striker described the team’s tournament as a mixture of positive achievements and disappointment.
“The overall assessment is both positive and mixed. There’s disappointment because we thought we could have gone further. However, we’re happy to have participated, which hadn’t happened for 12 years, and especially to have made it through the first round, a very important first step.
“The team was very young, so that gives us hope for the future,” he explained, with “a slight feeling of regret” about the Round of 32 loss in the 86th minute against Erling Haaland’s Norway (2-1).
Ivory Coast reached the last 16 at the World Cup for the first time in the country’s history, giving the former international striker reason to remain optimistic about the team’s prospects.
Bony, who earned 59 caps and scored 18 goals for the Elephants, highlighted the youth of the squad as one of the most encouraging aspects of their performance.
The Elephants return to competitive action with the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, with their opening fixture against Ghana providing Renard with his first opportunity to lead the team in a competitive match.
The trip to Somalia will follow five days later, before the Elephants meet Cameroon in a friendly in October.
