Michael Olise has brought back a France record not seen for 34 years after scoring the winner against Belgium and continuing his brilliant start under Zinedine Zidane.
Michael Olise makes France history with rare 34-year record
Michael Olise has made history for France after producing another decisive moment in the 1-0 Nations League victory over Belgium.
The Bayern Munich star came off the bench and scored the winning goal late in the match.
But the goal was about much more than three points.
Olise became the first France player since Eric Cantona in 1992 to be directly involved in the first two goals scored under a new national-team coach.
Olise wins it late for France
France travelled to Brussels without injured captain Kylian Mbappe.
The match remained goalless for most of the evening as Belgium made life difficult for Zinedine Zidane’s side.
Olise started on the bench but entered the match in the second half.
Then, in the 88th minute, he produced the decisive moment.
The winger carried the ball forward before finishing to give France a dramatic 1-0 victory.
It was another important contribution from a player who has quickly become a key part of Zidane’s new-look France team.
A record returns after 34 years
Olise’s goal created a very rare piece of France history.
In Zidane’s first match as coach against Turkey, Olise provided the assist for Mbappe’s winning goal.
Then against Belgium, he scored the winner himself.
That means Olise has been directly involved in:
FRANCE’S FIRST TWO GOALS UNDER ZIDANE
The last France player to achieve the same feat at the start of a new coach’s era was:
ERIC CANTONA IN 1992
That was 34 years ago.
Olise follows Cantona
Cantona achieved the feat when Gerard Houllier began his time as France coach.
More than three decades later, Olise has now repeated the achievement.
It is another sign of how important the 24-year-old has become for France.
Olise is no longer simply a talented option in attack.
He is becoming one of the players Zidane can rely on to decide important matches.
Two matches, two decisive contributions
Zidane has enjoyed a perfect start as France coach.
His first two results are:
Turkey 0-1 France
Belgium 0-1 France
And Olise has played a direct role in both winning goals.
Against Turkey:
Olise assisted Mbappe.
Against Belgium:
Olise scored the winner.
That makes him one of the biggest early winners of the Zidane era.
Impressive numbers for France
Olise’s overall international record is also becoming increasingly impressive.
After his latest performance, he has recorded:
8 GOALS
10 ASSISTS
in his first 27 appearances for France.
That means he has been directly involved in:
18 GOALS
during that period.
Few France players have started their international careers with such strong attacking numbers.
Another rare France milestone
Olise’s 18 goal contributions in his first 27 matches also place him among some famous names.
According to reported statistics, no France player had produced a similar total over their first 27 appearances since Youri Djorkaeff in 1997.
Djorkaeff recorded 22 goal contributions across the same number of matches.
It shows that Olise’s impact is not limited to one or two games.
Zidane’s perfect start continues
The victory also continued an excellent beginning for Zidane.
France have now won both matches under their new coach.
They have also kept clean sheets in both games.
The record stands at:
2 MATCHES
2 WINS
2 CLEAN SHEETS
6 POINTS
And Olise has been involved in every France goal so far.
France win without Mbappe
The result against Belgium was also impressive because France were without Mbappe.
The captain had left the squad because of a knee injury suffered in the previous international match.
Zidane was forced to make several changes to his team.
Olise stepped up at the perfect moment.
His late goal showed France still have several players capable of deciding games even when their biggest attacking star is unavailable.
Olise becoming a major France star
Olise has developed quickly since becoming a regular international player.
His technical quality, creativity and ability to score make him difficult for defenders to stop.
And under Zidane, his influence could become even bigger.
Being compared with a record set by Eric Cantona 34 years ago is another sign of the level Olise is now reaching.
A historic night in Brussels
France left Belgium with three points.
Zidane maintained his perfect start.
And Michael Olise wrote his name into the national team’s history books.
An assist in Zidane’s first game.
A winning goal in his second.
A France record not seen since Eric Cantona in 1992.
Thirty-four years later, the achievement has finally returned.
