Conspicuously, Michael Olise went through his first World Cup without scoring a single goal. He notched a hat-trick in a pre-tournament friendly, helping France to a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland. The Bayern Munich winger had many good chances to open his World Cup scoring in this tournament and missed some huge chances in the eventual 6-4 loss to England in the third place match.
But equally as notable was how many assists Olise racked up through the tournament. From the first match, his eye for
a pass and connection with star player Kylian Mbappé was apparent and the former Crystal Palace winger played a key role in the team’s run to the third place match against England. Though the match ended in defeat, Olise was able to walk away with a notable triumph.
He has now delivered the most assists in World Cup history.
Brazilian and footballing icon Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, was the previous holder on six assists after his exploits in the 1970 World Cup. Olise entered the third place match against England on five, just one behind one of the greatest footballers to ever grace the planet. And he would pull ahead of Pelé in the assist chart at the end of the match, first assisting Mbappe in the 48th minute before helping the Real Madrid striker strike yet again, temporarily cutting the 4-0 halftime deficit to 4-3.
One has to note that Olise recorded this achievement with the expanded format and played eight matches in total, including a Round of 32 and Round of 16 match. Meanwhile, Pelé recorded his six assists in just six matches, as the 1970 World Cup had no Round of 32 or Round of 16. Still, this should take nothing away from the French winger’s unbelievable debut World Cup campaign.
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