Olise's hat-trick against Northern Ireland: a first for France since 1934

Michael Olise scored a hat-trick against Northern Ireland (3-1) Monday evening at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, during the second warm-up match for France ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The Bayern Munich attacking midfielder thus becomes the first French player to score three goals in a World Cup preparation match in 92 years.

The London-born player first opened the scoring with a deflected shot by Ousmane Dembélé (43rd minute), before doubling the lead with a left-footed finish (49th), then concluded his masterpiece with a curled strike (74th), leaving the pitch to applause from the Lille crowd.

Olise is the 17th French international to score at least three goals in a single match for the national team, a list that includes the five-goal hauls by Eugène Maës and Thadée Cisowski, as well as the four-goal performances by Just Fontaine and Kylian Mbappé. The latter held the previous French hat-trick, scored in November 2023 against Gibraltar — he had also scored one in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina.

But it is the context that makes Olise’s performance particularly remarkable. To find a Frenchman who scored a hat-trick in World Cup preparation, you have to go back to June 1934: Jean Nicolas then scored three times against the Netherlands in Rotterdam, in a 4-3 victory. Top scorer in Division 1 in 1938 and three-time top scorer in Division 2 with FC Rouen, Nicolas was one of the most feared strikers of his era. A few days after his hat-trick, France was nevertheless eliminated in the first round of the 1934 World Cup in Italy, beaten by Austria’s Wunderteam (3-2 a.e.t.), despite an opening goal by Nicolas.

Nine decades later, Olise enters this rare piece of history at a time when France is counting on him to make an impact at the American tournament.