Olise scores brace against Northern Ireland and surpasses Mbappé at same stage in international career

Michael Olise scored a brace to unlock France against Northern Ireland on Monday evening at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, in a friendly match that long resisted the Blues.

The Bayern Munich winger opened the scoring in the 43rd minute in opportunistic circumstances: a long pass from Dayot Upamecano sent Désiré Doué down the left wing, who laid it back for Ousmane Dembélé. The Ballon d’Or winner’s left-footed shot was deflected by Ruairi McConville, and Olise finished with his right past the opposing goalkeeper. Shortly after the restart, he doubled the lead by converting a cross from Malo Gusto, deflected by the head of Théo Hernandez and pushed out by Northern Ireland captain Trai Hume.

The match illustrates the difficulties of the new attacking setup tested by Didier Deschamps: Ousmane Dembélé as number 10 behind Kylian Mbappé, Olise and Doué on the wings. After the defeat to Côte d’Ivoire (1-2) last Thursday in Nantes, the Blues remain in a run-in phase, struggling to create danger against well-organized Northern Ireland before Olise made the difference.

This brace brings Olise’s tally to 6 goals in 17 caps since his France debut in September 2024, following a brilliant campaign at the 2024 Olympic Games under Thierry Henry’s direction. By comparison, Kylian Mbappé had only 5 at his 17th cap, in June 2018, during the 0-0 draw against Denmark in the group stage of the Russian World Cup. At 24 years old, the Bayern winger is therefore showing a progression rate in international football superior to that of his captain at the same stage.