Didier Deschamps has challenged winger Michael Olise to reproduce his hat-trick form at the World Cup after the Bayern Munich star inspired France to a 3-1 friendly victory over Northern Ireland in their final warm-up match.
At the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, Deschamps fielded a potent attack combining Olise with Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele (PSG). The PSG pair had been rested for the previous loss to Ivory Coast after winning the Champions League.
Despite boasting numerous stars, France have often been criticised for a lack of cohesion in attack—especially captain Mbappe, who needs one goal to equal Olivier Giroud’s all-time scoring record and has sometimes seemed disconnected. Still, they piled pressure on Northern Ireland’s packed defence, forcing the visitors into desperate clearances and errors.
Olise was the star of the show, opening the scoring with a tap-in just before half-time, doubling the lead with a similar finish early in the second half, and sealing the win with a sublime strike from outside the box after Patrick Kelly had pulled one back for the visitors.
“We will need a Michael Olise of that calibre,” Deschamps said. “Michael stands out because of the season he has had at Bayern and with us. He has achieved some truly great things, is full of confidence, and also has the ability to work hard—that is remarkable.”
Another player who featured in the Champions League final, William Saliba (Arsenal), showed he had recovered from injury and returned to give France the same defensive look likely to start their World Cup opener against Senegal in New Jersey on 16 June.
The Lille stadium roof was closed on a cold, damp evening. The match was stopped for mid-half drink breaks to help Les Bleus prepare in detail for the World Cup. France will travel to a training base near Boston on Wednesday, then face Iraq in Philadelphia and Norway in Foxborough (outside Boston) in Group I.
