Michael Olise underlined his growing importance to France’s World Cup ambitions on Monday with an excellent hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland in a warm-up match in Lille.
The in-form playmaker continued his impressive emergence as one of Didier Deschamps’ most influential attacking weapons and helped Les Bleus bounce back from last week’s 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast. However, France’s defensive weaknesses came under renewed scrutiny ahead of the tournament.
France starts its World Cup campaign against Senegal in Group I on June 16 before facing Iraq and Norway.
Deschamps named what is expected to be his strongest starting line-up for the opener in New York, with Olise operating behind an attacking trio of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue. At the back, William Saliba worked with Dayot Upamecano in central defense.
France started slowly and struggled to break Northern Ireland’s compact defensive shape, creating few clear-cut chances in the opening stages.
The breakthrough finally came two minutes before half time. Doue stormed down the left flank and found Dembélé in the penalty area. The attacker’s effort was deflected into the path of Olise, who reacted quickest by tapping the ball from close range.
Olise doubled France’s lead just four minutes into the second half, firing a half-volley into the net after Northern Ireland failed to clear the lines.
Despite controlling much of the match, France again looked vulnerable defensively. Northern Ireland took advantage of one such mistake when Shea Charles delivered a cross from the right and Patrick Kelly finished emphatically to reduce the deficit.
Any hopes of a comeback were extinguished by Olise, who completed his hat-trick in style in the 75th minute. The 24-year-old curled a brilliant effort into the far corner to cap off another excellent individual performance and seal a comfortable victory for Les Bleus.
Published on June 9, 2026
