‘He’s flying on his own’ – Deschamps lauds hat-trick hero Olise

Didier Deschamps hailed Michael Olise for “flying on his own” after the 24-year-old scored his first career hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland.

Deschamps was overseeing his final match on home soil ahead of his departure at the end of the World Cup, and he received a winning send-off at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Olise scored his first two goals on either side of half-time, and though Patrick Kelly pulled one back for Northern Ireland, the Frenchman rounded off his hat-trick in the 74th minute.

In 2026, Olise has registered 31 goal involvements (15 goals, 16 assists) in 31 games for club and country. He is also the first player to score a treble for France in a friendly since Olivier Giroud against Paraguay in June 2017.

Against Northern Ireland, he had five shots – a tally only bettered by Kylian Mbappe’s six – but no player had more shots on target (four).

“He is radiant with his season at Bayern, with us too. He’s full of confidence; he’s so decisive,” Deschamps said.

“He also has a remarkable ability to make efforts. We’ll need a Michael at that level, others too.

 VICTOIRE – !

Nos Bleus s’imposent dans ce dernier match de préparation à la Coupe du Monde grâce au triplé de Michael Olise #FRANIR pic.twitter.com/8Aejc7iCT3

— Equipe de France  (@equipedefrance) June 8, 2026

“Congratulations to him. He arrived with us after a good Olympics. It took a little time, four or five matches for him to free himself, because I’m not telling you anything, he’s rather introverted.

“But he is very endearing. We try to accompany him through the discussions. He’s flying on his own; he’s done everything to be at that level.”

Courtesy of winning his 98th senior cap for France, Mbappe is now the outright 10th-most capped player for Les Bleus, moving beyond Karim Benzema, Laurent Blanc and Bixente Lizarazu.

However, he has failed to score in both of France’s warm-up matches for the World Cup, having also drawn a blank in their 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast.

Asked if France should be worried by Mbappe’s current form, Deschamps said: “I’ll let you be the judge.

“It’s true that he had several situations, he didn’t have the efficiency. But he told me that he kept it for the United States, that’s fine with me.”