Olise hat-trick against Northern Ireland reshapes France's World Cup attack

Olise hat-trick sinks Northern Ireland as France sign off

Michael Olise scored all three goals as France beat Northern Ireland 3–1 in Lille on Monday. That is the last image before the squad flies to the United States on June 10.

The friendly was supposed to settle nerves. Didier Deschamps sent out a near full-strength side for the final test before facing Senegal in the World Cup opener. Olise delivered. Mbappé did not register a shot on target.

One match, one hat-trick, one new question: who leads this attack?

Deschamps gets his answer, but not from the player he expected

France go into the tournament with Ousmane Dembélé back, Kylian Mbappé as captain, and Olise suddenly impossible to ignore. The Ballon d'Or winner is fit again. The coach wanted a likely starting XI – he may have found a headache instead.

The camp has been tense. A 2–1 loss to Côte d'Ivoire dented confidence. Image-rights friction bubbled up again. Deschamps acknowledged it publicly. Now a 22-year-old just grabbed the narrative eight days before Senegal.

The logistics are locked in

The squad departs Tuesday. Arrival in the US is timed for a one-hour daily recovery window. Heat is expected and planned for. Everything off the pitch is calibrated. On the pitch, it suddenly looks less predictable.

Fan reactions

Fans are not treating this as a routine friendly. The contrast between Olise's three goals and Mbappé's six shots with zero on target has lit up discussion threads. Many see a starting spot debate that did not exist 24 hours ago. One fan summed it up: "Olise dropping a hat trick while Mbappe had zero shots on target is not a small thing."