Olise is a genius

Few players have exploded onto the World Cup stage quite like Michael Olise. In his first appearance at the tournament, the French star has shattered every expectation. Alongside Kylian Mbappé, he has formed a devastating partnership: the scorer and the creator. It’s a combination that strikes fear into opponents and has France looking every bit the favorite to capture a third World Cup title. Much of that is down to the Bayern Munich star.

The tournament’s leading assist provider, Olise delivered another dazzling performance against Sweden. The London-born playmaker needed only to find “Kiki” to overwhelm Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres. It wasn’t just what he did, but how he did it. Class, elegance, and endless creativity left fans and the media in awe. Because Olise is more than an attacking player. He is the brain of a France team with its sights set on the trophy.

Olise setting up goals for France

He now has five assists at the 2026 World Cup, more than anyone else. He sits ahead of Bruno Guimarães (four) and Florian Wirtz (three). His fourth came on Bradley Barcola’s goal, while his third, a masterpiece, found Mbappé in a space so tight that only Olise could have seen it. He is still searching for his first goal of the tournament, although he came close against Sweden with an acrobatic bicycle kick that nearly turned into an unlikely assist for Ousmane Dembélé.

“I thought Michael (Olise) was going to bring the ball down with his chest because he didn’t even look at the goal first, but it was an unbelievable piece of skill. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the reward, but I think that’s exactly the kind of play people come to the stadium to see,” an amazed Mbappé said after the match.

Chasing Messi and Pelé

You would never guess this is Olise’s first World Cup.

He has announced himself on the biggest stage with authority. Thanks to his five assists, and with at least one more game to play, Olise still has time to challenge the World Cup assist record jointly held by Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona with eight. If France reaches the final, he would have four games in total to surpass them.

He is already just one assist shy of Pelé’s single-tournament mark of six, set during the legendary Brazilian’s unforgettable 1970 World Cup.

“What he does without the ball is unmatched. People always focus on what technical players do with the ball, and usually those players forget about their defensive responsibilities. Michael doesn’t. He understands the game, how to approach it. He’s a phenomenon. What a player. I had the privilege of coaching him. Sometimes he’d do things in training and you’d have to stop yourself from saying, ‘Wow,’ because as a coach you can’t react like that. Instead, you’d look at your assistant and ask, ‘Did you just see that?’ Then you’d say, ‘Again, again, again. Come on, guys.’ He’s on another planet. He’s simply different. The MVP will always be Kylian because he’ll put up numbers nobody else can match, but the most important player is Michael Olise,” France legend Thierry Henry said.

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