Olise disappoints France despite the assist against Turkey

Under the lights of the stadium in Turkey, Michael Olise started on the right side of the attack, selected by Zinedine Zidane, during France's 0-1 victory in the Nations League on Friday evening. Despite an assist to Kylian Mbappé, former Canal+ pundit Pierre Ménès judged the performance to be far below what is seen at Bayern Munich.

Pierre Ménès' Critiques

On his YouTube channel, Pierre Ménès said: “Olise, we are still far from the France of the player we see shining with Bayern Munich.” He added that the player had made “a magnificent strike in the first half and he provided the assist for Mbappé’s goal,” but that the rest of the match was “quite poor, lacking responsibility with the ball and authority in his play.”

Bixente Lizarazu's Reaction

Conversely, Bixente Lizarazu defended Olise, describing him as “the most effective, the most creative, the hardest to block” among the three forwards lined up. He considered the Bavarian to be “one tone above Ousmane Dembélé and two tones above Kylian Mbappé.” Lizarazu highlighted Dembélé’s impact as a centre‑forward and recalled that Mbappé, although a scorer, seemed to lose his bearings on the left side.

Zidane hands the armband to Ousmane Dembélé during Mbappé's absence

The contrast between the two opinions shows the difficulty of assessing Olise’s contribution when he swings between individual brilliance and a lack of collective consistency. Zidane, who placed the player at the front of the attack, will probably need to adjust his role for the upcoming matches.

In summary, Olise’s performance sparked a lively debate among experts, highlighting the high expectations generated by his move to Bayern Munich and the need for greater authority when he wears the colours of France.

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