Kylian Mbappe had just pulled level with Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer, but the glint in his eye revealed far more than the impressive finish. The French superstar whipped his head back towards a gleeful Michael Olise, grinning after the through ball that had just sliced Senegal open and banished a testing start to the World Cup 2026 for Les Bleus. It sent France on their way to a 3-1 victory, an imperfect performance but one that has confirmed perhaps the deadliest combination world football right now.
Indeed, it took a rousing second-half performance to confirm a winning start for Didier Deschamps’ side, and it stemmed from Olise’s appetite to control the game and change the pace at will. A moment before breaking the deadlock, Olise had drifted to the right, exchanged passes with Jules Kounde and assessed the French options buzzing around the Senegalese area. The Bayern Munich star placed a magnificent pass into a channel for Mbappe to surge onto. Merely redirecting the ball, without adding any more power, Mbappe beat a sprawling Edouard Mendy to send Les Bleus on their way.
The noise has rightfully swirled around Mbappe in the build-up to this tournament; an opportunity for the 27-year-old to forget a turbulent season at Real Madrid and complete a meteoric rise as arguably the greatest World Cup player ahead of Pele already, should he in fact win two titles and feature across three consecutive finals. And his brace in this 3-1 victory in New York only underlines that trajectory.
A second, thumping finish from range moved him past Giroud as France’s top goalscorer (58) and beyond Just Fontaine (14) for most World Cup goals by a Frenchman, with Miroslav Klose’s record (16) likely to go in the coming weeks. But despite a wealth of experience in Deschamps’ ranks, as Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue completed France’s Fab Four, while Bradley Barcola, who struck France’s second, the former Crystal Palace forward stands tall on football’s grandest stage. Mbappe’s partner in crime, the duo could resemble Romario and Bebeto’s combination that inspired Brazil’s triumph at USA 1994, though France have absurd depth and more options than that Selecao. A teammate willing to harness Mbappe’s express pace, Olise married vision and the most exquisite weight of pass to take over this Group I game.
In fact, Olise’s World Cup debut started by demonstrating his peculiar movement as one of the most creative forces in the final third, occupying the space between Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba and gazing upfield at this colossal MetLife Stadium.
“It’s what he [Michael Olise] does off the ball, he’s a dream for a manager,” Thierry Henry, his coach with the French Olympic team, said. “He doesn’t play the game, he thinks about the game, you can play him in a lot of positions. You don’t have to change your team to adapt to him, he will fit in. Of course he does [have the potential to be the best in the world].”
Mbappe had shrugged off a scrappy first half that included several clunky touches, with France producing an all-time low of one first half shot in a World Cup group stage match since 1966, according to Opta. But it was Olise who provided the spark.
It started with a powerful run after the restart, drifting past Kalidou Koulibaly, only to see his shot blocked by Mendy’s sprawling leg. A moment later he brought back memories of Zinedine Zidane, attracting pressure in midfield before spinning in behind and laying on a majestic pass into the path of Mbappe. That potent combination was merely a step away from breaking the deadlock, but Senegal had been warned.
How you stop Olise in this form will become a fundamental part of the tournament and just how far France go. His power and stature afford him the ability to deal with aggressive tactics from opponents, while Didier Deschamps’ liberal approach to his fab four’s positions enabled the opener, too. Should teams venture forward, then Olise can come alive and punish teams in transitions, yet this was an example of what can happen if you sit off and operate a deep block.
His gluttony for production in the final third remains on a relentless pace, too, having produced 27 assists last season. And this decisive impact in a 3-1 victory for France further shows just how Olise can help take Mbappe to new heights with France.
