All posts tagged: Olise

Olise, Yamal, Cubarsi and a semi-final that previews football’s next decade

Olise, Yamal, Cubarsi and a semi-final that previews football’s next decade

Behind France’s relentless attack is a 24-year-old conductor with dreadlocks and instincts that seem borrowed from another era. Behind Spain’s impenetrable defence is a 19-year-old whose composure belongs to a man twice his age. The France versus Spain semi-final in Dallas is many things at once: a tactical chess match, a collision of European giants, a game that deserved to be a final. Above all, it is a window into football’s future. Some of these players are already superstars. Kylian Mbappe is only 26, arguably not yet at his peak. But it is the names beyond Mbappe that hum with possibility, players who could fill the vast space Messi and Ronaldo, Modric and De Bruyne will eventually leave behind. ALSO READ | Deschamps’ magic square: How Mbappe, Dembele, Doue, Olise are crushing opponents Michael Olise is the fulcrum of France’s machine. Before this World Cup, he was known chiefly to European football devotees. Now he is unmissable, a playmaker of equal parts intuition and intelligence, running the French show with his passing, movement and energy. …

Morocco’s tireless legs may be answer to stopping Olise, Mbappe

Morocco’s tireless legs may be answer to stopping Olise, Mbappe

No team has scored more goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup than France. No team has had more attempts on target either. There is no subjective statistic to corroborate this, but eye test suggests no team has a more intimidating attacking quartet than France’s. Kylian Mbappe. Ousmane Dembele. Michael Olise. Desire Doue. How could Morocco relent the unrelenting in the impending quarter-final? Turns out, Morocco’s greatest weapon against France is…France. They will be relying on three footballers shaped by the French system, each of whom either wore France’s colours, or harboured a desire to do so. At the heart of the defence is Issa Diop. At only 21, barely weeks after moving to England, he repelled every attack in a game against Manchester United. Jose Mourinho could barely believe what he saw. “Congratulations to whoever scouted him. The kid is a monster!” Diop was scouted by West Ham United after standout performances for France at the 2016 U-21 Euros — the very tournament that also offered the first glimpses of the brilliance of Kylian …

Race for Golden Root – Olise (5), Guimaraes & Diaz (4) log most Assists

Race for Golden Root – Olise (5), Guimaraes & Diaz (4) log most Assists

3 min readUpdated: Jul 5, 2026 08:47 PM IST Paraguay might’ve trapped him into a yellow from a forged foul, but Michael Olise continues to top charts for most assists with 5 at this 2026 FIFA World Cup. The supporting cast rarely gets the limelight and in a World Cup with Messi, Ronaldo, Haaland, Mbappe and Kane, might even completely be forgotten, but the spark-plugs, the switch-starters, the flintstones and match sticks lighting the fire have managed to imprint their genius on fan minds. Olise is chasing down Pele’s all time record of 6 from 1970. It starts with the braided ponytail of Olise – with delivery to both Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele taking him to 5 Assists from 5 games as France defeated Paraguay 1-0. He put himself in glorious company – Diego Maradona in 1986, and the last to get to 5 – the aptly named German Thomas Hassler in 1994. Olise is one short of Pele’s count of 1970. Polish Robert Gadocha (1974) and Pierre Littbarski (1982) also had 5. Olise …

Michael Olise: Bringing audacity of nonchalance to places it didn’t belong | Football News

Michael Olise: Bringing audacity of nonchalance to places it didn’t belong | Football News

5 min readJul 2, 2026 06:30 AM IST Michael Olise is an introvert. The introversion is often evident, like in his interview on CBS Sports Golazo — a show where the panelists tend to be louder than the football they cover. Among the panelists were Thierry Henry, under whose coaching Olise had won the silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. It was the broadcasters’ only trick up the sleeve to unlock an unexplored, extroverted version of Olise. They failed — he didn’t have any. On offer were only diffident smiles and self-effacing nonchalance. Only in one place could you see a different version of Olise. Not the studios, but on grass — his natural habitat. On Wednesday, he was the standout player in France’s clockwork orange, when they beat Sweden 3-0. That is, despite Kylian Mbappe scoring a brace to equal Lionel Messi’s goal tally. Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe celebrating France’s third goal in the World Cup round of 32 match against Sweden in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. …

How Mbappe, Dembele, Doue, Olise are crushing opponents

How Mbappe, Dembele, Doue, Olise are crushing opponents

Before the 1984 European Championship, the French manager Michel Hidalgo had a problem. He had four virtuosic playmakers, but not a centre forward. An idea was born, he made a midfield square with his gifted playmakers, helmed by the impeccable Michel Platini. It came to be known as magic square, or the Le Carre Magique, and they inspired their maiden championship triumph of note. Decades later, Hidalgo’s distant successor Didier Deschamps – whose France beat Norway 4-1 to top World Cup Group I – had a problem, too. He had a superfluity of riches that he couldn’t configure the perfect deception code. Both, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, were wingmen repositioned to the centre by their clubs with staggering success. But he could slot only one. He could drop Mbappe or shunt him to the left for Dembele; he could not bench Dembele, the reigning footballer of the year, either. ALSO READ | The Ousmane Dembele show: The art of minimalism and scoring goals The confusion did not end there. He had two exceptionally versatile …

Who is Michael Olise – Mbappé’s wingman, as French captain chases Messi’s goal count

Who is Michael Olise – Mbappé’s wingman, as French captain chases Messi’s goal count

5 min readJun 23, 2026 09:00 AM IST There are 75 players at the 2026 FIFA World Cup who are born in France – representing around 10 nations. Michael Olise, the lynchpin of the French attack, the puppeteer pulling the strings from the right wing, while setting up Kylian Mbappé’s strikes – isn’t one. Olise was born in London. He has been called the ‘today and tomorrow’ of French football by Mbappé, after his assists first helped France steady early nerves and a ponderous first half against Senegal, when the French captain finally scored. Against Iraq in a rain-drenched game, Olise was quicker to get France going, when his pinpoint service to Mbappé took his captain to 15 World Cup goals in his 100th match. Roving on the right, well out of the defensive unit’s peripheral sights, Olise kept pinging in precise passes that the French forwards could convert, with Dembele receiving an Olise assist and scoring the French third in a 3-0 win. ALSO READ | Mbappé approaching Messi’s 18-goal record in World Cup’s …

Harry Kane And Michael Olise Run Riot As Bayern Thump Bremen

Michael Olise had a hand in four goals and Harry Kane scored again as Bayern Munich ran riot to win 5-0 at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Olise, who arrived from Crystal Palace in the summer, scored twice and laid on two more in the win, while Kane had a goal to go with his two assists. The big win continued Bayern’s stunning week, with a 6-1 win at promoted Holstein Kiel followed by a 9-2 home victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. Kane created Olise’s 23rd-minute opener and the goalscorer then turned provider, dribbling down the right and threading a perfect pass for Jamal Musiala to score shortly afterwards. Olise then assisted Kane’s 57th-minute goal, the England captain’s 10th goal so far for Bayern this season in six games all competitions. Olise scored again and Kane set up Serge Gnabry to make it five against Bremen, whose only win against Bayern dating back to 2008 came this January in Munich. Kane scored his first Bundesliga goal on debut …