With a hat-trick and an assist for OGC Nice against Rennes, Elye Wahi puts the Ivorian number 9 question back on the table, just days before coach Hervé Renard names his squad for Gambia.
On Friday 30 October at the Allianz Riviera, Elye Wahi led OGC Nice past Rennes (5-2): the Ivory Coast international opened his account from the penalty spot in the 12th minute, converted a second penalty in the 34th, then completed his evening with a goal from open play in the 73rd. In between, he had set up Jonathan Clauss in first-half stoppage time.
The performance did not go unnoticed: L’Équipe gave him a 9/10 rating in its Ligue 1 team of the week for matchday 9. Above all, it comes at a strategic moment, just days before the expected announcement of the squad named by Hervé Renard, Ivory Coast coach, for the clash with Gambia. Enough to reopen the debate about the Elephants’ number 9, without settling it.
Two penalties and a goal from open play
Wahi’s hat-trick against Rennes had a particular make-up: two of the three goals came from penalties, in the 12th and 34th minutes. The third, by contrast, was scored from open play in the 73rd. According to Africa Soccer, that configuration invites a sense of perspective on the statistics, but the performance remains significant for a player whose progress has often been held back by inconsistency.
Wahi, called up for the first time in the spring and then part of the World Cup squad with the Elephants, is thus back in the Ivorian attacking conversation.
Still scoreless with the Elephants
For the paradox is there: at club level, Wahi has just scored a hat-trick; at international level, he is still waiting for his first goal. According to Africa Soccer, his record with Ivory Coast remains below the level required of a centre-forward. A first call-up in the spring, a World Cup appearance, but no goal in the Elephants shirt.
Sébastien Haller, a striker, has no clear successor, and the competition includes Ange-Yoan Bonny, also a striker. The debate has therefore been reopened by Wahi’s performance, but the problem is not yet solved for the Elephants, Africa Soccer points out.
A squad announcement awaited, not a guaranteed call-up
Nothing guarantees, however, that the Nice striker will be in Hervé Renard’s squad to face Gambia. The announcement is expected in the coming days, and the coach’s decision remains open. Wahi’s hat-trick argues in his favour; his lack of goals for the national team fuels the other side of the case.
The Riviera club, for its part, still has its next match to play.