{"id":15690,"date":"2026-06-16T03:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T21:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/?p=15690"},"modified":"2026-06-16T03:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T21:30:14","slug":"michael-olise-is-unstoppable-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/michael-olise-is-unstoppable-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Olise is unstoppable right now."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three goals. One night. A statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Olise\u2019s final World Cup warm-up was not supposed to define him \u2014 France <\/a>were already certain of his value. But when he stepped up and scored his final goal \u2014  a curled, precise shot from the edge of the box into the top-left corner to complete his hat-trick against Northern Ireland, something shifted. This was not a player filling in. This was a player announcing himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Indian fans watching the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122, Michael Olise is a name worth getting to know well before France\u2019s opening match. He could be the most exciting player at the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose the ZEE5 Quarterly Plan subscription at \u20b9799 or the ZEE5 Annual Plan at \u20b91,699 to watch Michael Olise and France live in India at the <\/em><\/strong>FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The night it all came together.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

France beat Northern Ireland 3\u20131, and Olise scored all three. The first came in the 43rd minute \u2014 sharp, clinical, close range after Demb\u00e9l\u00e9\u2019s shot was blocked. Six minutes into the second half, he blasted in from near the penalty spot after the Northern Ireland defence failed to clear and then the third \u2014 the highlight of the match. Pure instinct, perfect execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It made him the first France player to score a hat-trick in a friendly since Olivier Giroud against Paraguay in June 2017. Nine years. That is how long it had been. And Giroud, at the time, was a recognised starter for one of the best national teams in the world. Olise has reached the same landmark in far fewer caps \u2014 a remarkable marker of how quickly he has become indispensable to Didier Deschamps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The numbers that back the hype<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Olise does not rely on one warm-up match to make his case. The evidence is in the Bundesliga, where he has spent two seasons quietly becoming one of the best players in European club football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the current season, he leads the entire Bundesliga assist leaderboard with 18 \u2014 five more than the next player. He added 12 goals, placing him joint-fifth in the scoring charts. Across his first season at Bayern M\u00fcnchen in 2024\u201325, he registered 40 scorer points in 55 competitive appearances. The club voted him their Player of the Season. It is the kind of recognition that Bayern do not hand out lightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has also won a lot. Back-to-back Bundesliga titles. A DFB-Pokal. A Super Cup. Four trophies in two seasons at the most demanding club in Germany. Olise is not a player still learning how to win \u2014 he already knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four nations, one decision<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Born in London to a Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother, Olise faced a choice most players never do. England, France, Nigeria, Algeria \u2014 any of the four could have claimed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He chose France. And he was clear about why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have always had a connection with the France national team; that is why I play for France,\u201d he said. \u201cI grew up watching French football and admired players like Zidane and Henry. At home, I had three cultures because of my parents, and outside it was England, where I grew up. I didn\u2019t have to force this mix \u2014 it was just there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The choice came at a cost. France were at UEFA Euro 2024 \u2014 and reached the semi-finals \u2014 but Olise was not included in Deschamps\u2019 squad. His then Crystal Palace teammate Eberechi Eze played for England at the same Euros. Thierry Henry confirmed that Olise had every opportunity to represent England but never wavered. That kind of conviction about identity and belonging is not common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What he brings to the football World Cup 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

France arrives at the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 as genuine favourites. Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 draws attention, as he always does. But Olise, operating in the wide areas, gives Deschamps something different \u2014 a player who can beat defenders one-on-one, who creates as much as he scores, and who carries the kind of form that cannot be manufactured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Indian viewers tuning in for France\u2019s group stage matches, Olise is the player who will make things happen before Mbapp\u00e9 even touches the ball. He is the one who arrives in dangerous positions early and leaves with the match already decided. He is the player you watch when the game is still being written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three goals in a warm-up is a footnote. What he does from June onwards is the real story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to watch Michael Olise\u2019s FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122campaign live? ZEE5 is the official streaming home for FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122in India \u2014 explore the latest <\/em><\/strong>ZEE5 FIFA  subscription<\/em><\/strong><\/a> plans and stream every France match live.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimer: Subscription pack prices are subject to change from time to time. Please visit the subscription page for the most up-to-date pricing information<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three goals. One night. A statement. Michael Olise\u2019s final World Cup warm-up was not supposed to define him \u2014 France were already certain of his value. But when he stepped up and scored his final goal \u2014  a curled, precise shot from the edge of the box into the top-left corner to complete his hat-trick […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":15163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3019],"tags":[3031,3030,3145],"class_list":["post-15690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-france-football-team","tag-michael-olise"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15691,"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15690\/revisions\/15691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}