Olise surpasses Mbappé and joins Platini after 30 caps with France

Michael Olise scored his twelfth goal for France on Thursday evening against Italy, capitalizing on an imprecise clearance from Gianluigi Donnarumma to open the scoring. A clinical finish that brings his direct goal contributions to 23 in 30 caps — 12 goals and 11 assists.

At this stage of their international careers, only Michel Platini (17 goals, 6 assists) and Youri Djorkaeff (15 goals, 8 assists) had displayed comparable returns over the past sixty years. The former Crystal Palace winger now surpasses Kylian Mbappé, credited with 21 direct contributions (12 goals, 9 assists) after his first thirty caps.

His output over the 2026 calendar year is equally striking: 18 direct contributions in twelve months (8 goals, 10 assists) place him third in France’s history over this window, behind Thierry Henry in 2003 (19 units) and the all-time record of Just Fontaine during the 1958 World Cup (21 units, including 18 goals).

The second half against Italy was more laboured for the Bayern Munich striker, as France as a whole lost control after the break. Manager Zinédine Zidane defended him in his press conference: “You can’t always play 90 minutes or be constantly at the same level. He scored many goals for us during the two previous gatherings and he was very good. When the collective is less effective, it inevitably affects individual performances.”

Olise had already made history by being decisive in all five matches of the Zidane era — an absolute first for a player making his debut under a new manager — with five goals and two assists over that period. Despite a more subdued second half, he is establishing himself as France’s primary attacking barometer.