Olise bags a brace inside three minutes

Michael Olise led France to victory over Belgium with an outstanding appearance from the bench. The Bayern player continued to demonstrate his top form – and goal-scoring prowess – in the 4–1 (0–1) win at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis: Following his winner in the reverse fixture in Belgium (1–0) and an assist for the 1–0 win in Turkey, the FCB forward had also most recently found the back of the net in the 1–1 (0–0) draw against the Squadra Azzurra. And the 24-year-old last night bagged a brace inside three minutes after coming off the bench, having beforehand set up the goal that turned the match around to secure the 4–1 victory. It means Olise can boast an astonishing four goals and two assists in four appearances during this international break.

Dodi Lukebakio had put the Belgians ahead in Paris after 35 minutes; despite having the upper hand, France struggled to get into the game for long periods. That changed with the introduction of Désiré Doué and Michael Olise in the 60th minute. From then on, France took the game to their opponents and increasingly picked apart the Belgian defence, which had been so well organised up until then. Doué equalised with a finish on the spin (77'). Olise then set up a Rayan Cherki goal with a cross and was himself unstoppable down the right flank. The Bayern forward went on to add two goals (88', 90'+1), both from passes from Doué.

Olise remains humble

It means France remain top of Group A1. Olise passed on the praise to his team: “We played well towards the end; the first half was tough – it’s always tricky against deep-lying defences. After that, we kept going, and it all worked out well in the end. It’s also a team effort. The coach comes up with ideas, we put them into practice, and we did that well in the four matches,” said the 24-year-old. Head coach Zinedine Zidane had altered the entire starting XI apart from Ousmane Dembelé, and he proved with the substitutions that he has a knack for making the right decisions.