{{Short description|French-born Beninese footballer (born 1997)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Yohan Roche | image = | full_name = Yohan Cédric Benjamin Roche | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1997|7|7}} | birth_place = Lyon, France | height = 1.88 m<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rodezaveyronfootball.com/es-yohan-roche/|title=Qui es-tu, Yohan Roche ?|date=25 June 2018}}</ref> | position = Defender | currentclub = Petrolul Ploiești | clubnumber = 69 | youthyears1 = {{0|0000}}–2014 | youthclubs1 = Villefranche | years1 = 2014–2017 | clubs1 = Villefranche | caps1 = 17 | goals1 = 2 | years2 = 2017–2019 | clubs2 = Reims B | caps2 = 32 | goals2 = 0 | years3 = 2018–2019 | clubs3 = → Rodez (loan) | caps3 = 26 | goals3 = 0 | years4 = 2019–2021 | clubs4 = Rodez | caps4 = 38 | goals4 = 0 | years5 = 2021–2023 | clubs5 = Adanaspor | caps5 = 49 | goals5 = 4 | years6 = 2023–2024 | clubs6 = Quevilly-Rouen | caps6 = 15 | goals6 = 0 | years7 = 2023–2024 | clubs7 = Quevilly-Rouen B | caps7 = 3 | goals7 = 0 | years8 = 2024– | clubs8 = Petrolul Ploiești | caps8 = 52 | goals8 = 2 | nationalyears1 = 2020– | nationalteam1 = Benin | nationalcaps1 = 29 | nationalgoals1 = 2 | club-update = 10 May 2026 | nationalteam-update = 31 March 2026 }}
'''Yohan Cédric Benjamin Roche''' (born 7 July 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga I club Petrolul Ploiești. Born in France, he plays for the Benin national team.
==Club career== Roche began his senior career with FC Villefranche Beaujolais in the Championnat de France Amateur before moving to Stade de Reims in 2017, initially playing with the club’s reserve side. Roche spent the 2018–19 season on loan at Rodez Aveyron Football in the Championnat National, where he helped the club win the league and secure promotion to Ligue 2.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Forgues |first=Raphael |date=2023-06-13 |title=Yohan Roche s'engage avec QRM ! |url=https://qrm.fr/yohan-roche-sengage-avec-qrm/ |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=QRM |language=fr-FR}}</ref>
Roche permanently joined Rodez on 20 June 2019, after a successful year-long loan with them.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=https://rodezaveyronfootball.com/yohan-roche-est-ruthenois/ |title=Yohan Roche est Ruthénois ! |date=20 June 2019}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.soccerway.com/matches/2019/07/26/france/ligue-2/rodez-aveyron-football/association-de-la-jeunesse-auxerroise/3031019/|title=Rodez vs. Auxerre - 26 July 2019|website=Soccerway}}</ref> Over the next two seasons, Roche made numerous appearances in France’s second tier before departing for Adanaspor of the Turkish second division in 2021, where he scored four goals in 49 league matches.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
In the summer of 2023, Roche returned to France, signing with Quevilly-Rouen Métropole in Ligue 2. After a stint with Quevilly-Rouen, he moved to Romanian side FC Petrolul Ploiești, where he has featured in Liga I.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Libre |first=Matin |date=2024-09-19 |title=Mercato Guépards: Yohan Roche débarque en Ligue 1 Roumanie |url=https://matinlibre.com/2024/09/19/mercato-guepards-yohan-roche-debarque-en-ligue-1-roumanie/ |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=Matin Libre |language=fr-FR}}</ref>
== International career == Roche was born in France to a French father and Beninese mother.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://beninwebtv.com/2020/09/taniere-des-ecureuils-qui-est-yohan-roche/|title=Tanière des Ecureuils : Qui est Yohan Roche ?|date=30 September 2020|website=Bénin Web TV}}</ref> He made his debut with the Benin national team in a 2–0 friendly win over Gabon on 12 October 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://allezrodez.com/index.php/2020/10/11/le-benin-simpose-roche-entre-en-jeu/|title=Le Bénin s'impose, Roche entre en jeu|first=Erwan|last=Issanchou|date=11 October 2020}}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=RAF : Yohan Roche à la découverte d’un nouveau monde |url=https://www.ladepeche.fr/2020/11/27/yohan-roche-a-la-decouverte-dun-nouveau-monde-9223477.php |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=ladepeche.fr |language=fr}}</ref> On 27 December 2025, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Botswana during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, securing his nation's first ever win in the competition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.africatopsports.com/2025/12/27/afcon-2025-historic-roche-strike-hands-benin-first-ever-afcon-victory/ |title=AFCON 2025 : Historic Roche Strike Hands Benin First-Ever AFCON Victory |publisher=Africa Top Sports |date=27 December 2025 }}</ref>
==Career statistics== ===International=== {{Updated|matches played on 31 March 2026}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by national team and year |- !National team||Year||Apps||Goals |- |rowspan="7"|Benin |2020||3||0 |- |2021||3||1 |- |2022||3||0 |- |2023||2||0 |- |2024||5||0 |- |2025||10||1 |- |2026||3||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total!!29!!2 |}
:''Scores and results list Benin's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Roche goal.''<ref name="NFT">{{cite web|url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/79847/Yohan_Roche.html|title=Roche, Yohan|publisher=National Football Teams|accessdate=17 September 2024}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ List of international goals scored by Yohan Roche ! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition |- |align=center | 1 || 8 June 2021 || Stade de l’Amitié Mathieu Kérékou, Cotonou, Benin|| {{fb|ZAM}} || align=center | 2–2 || align=center | 2–2 || Friendly |- |align=center | 2 || 27 December 2025 || Rabat Olympic Stadium, Rabat, Morocco || {{fb|BOT}} || align=center | 1–0 || align=center | 1–0 || 2025 Africa Cup of Nations |}
==Honours== '''Rodez''' *Championnat National: 2018–19
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{LFP|roche-yohan}} * {{Soccerway|yohan-roche/375213}}
{{FC Petrolul Ploiești squad}} {{Benin squad 2025 Africa Cup of Nations}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Yohan}} Category:1997 births Category:Black French sportspeople Category:Living people Category:Footballers from Lyon Category:Beninese men's footballers Category:21st-century Beninese sportsmen Category:Benin men's international footballers Category:French men's footballers Category:Beninese people of French descent Category:French sportspeople of Beninese descent Category:Men's association football defenders Category:FC Villefranche Beaujolais players Category:Stade de Reims players Category:Rodez AF players Category:Adanaspor footballers Category:US Quevilly-Rouen Métropole players Category:FC Petrolul Ploiești players Category:Ligue 2 players Category:Championnat National players Category:Championnat National 2 players Category:Championnat National 3 players Category:TFF 1. Lig players Category:2025 Africa Cup of Nations players Category:Beninese expatriate men's footballers Category:French expatriate men's footballers Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Category:Beninese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Category:French expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Category:Beninese expatriate sportspeople in Romania Category:French expatriate sportspeople in Romania Category:21st-century French sportsmen