Sawt Falasteen - Majestic Olise raises France to another level at World Cup

There is a sense that, after years of prioritising pragmatism over flair, coach Didier Deschamps has decided to hand the keys to his brilliant attacking players as he aims to end his long reign with another World Cup triumph.

That may yet change when it comes to the latter stages and the quality of the opposition increases, but France have been irresistible so far with Olise helping raise them to another level.

Les Bleus were at their thrilling best in a 3-0 win over Sweden in New Jersey on Tuesday that made it four wins, and 13 goals scored, so far at the tournament as they eased through to a last-16 tie against Paraguay.

Olise has not scored any of those goals, with Mbappe netting two at the MetLife Stadium to move to six in total, and Bradley Barcola getting the other on the day.

Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele has four and Desire Doue one, but Olise's display against Sweden was majestic, as he set up two goals to become this World Cup's leading assist provider.

The Bayern Munich player did almost break his tournament duck with the game still goalless, but his breathtaking overhead bicycle kick came back off a post -- even Mbappe was in awe at the execution.

"It was a fantastic bit of skill. Unfortunately it didn't go in, but people come to the stadium to see that kind of thing," Mbappe said.

The exciting version of France that has emerged at the end of Deschamps' 14-year tenure can be traced back to a Nations League quarter-final against Croatia in March last year.

After losing 2-0 away in the first leg, Deschamps decided to remove one of his three defensive midfielders, and add another forward.

Olise, who had made his senior international debut six months earlier off the back of an impressive Olympics, was brought in for the second leg to play in the number 10 role, behind Mbappe.

He scored a superb free-kick, sparking a comeback as France went on to win the tie on penalties.

- 'Future Ballon d'Or' -

Now 24, he gradually established himself in the starting line-up, just as he was starring for Bayern.

The season just finished saw him score 22 goals in all competitions as Bayern won a domestic double and lost in the Champions League semi-finals to Paris Saint-Germain.

In his last game before the World Cup, he scored a hat-trick in France's 3-1 friendly win against Northern Ireland.

"Michael has been putting together really top-class performances off the back of a very good season. He needed a bit of time get his bearings with us but he is a major influence," said Deschamps.

"When he touches the ball, things happen."

Deschamps knows how important Olise is on the pitch, despite being one of the least outspoken members of the squad off it -- born in London to a Nigerian father and a Franco-Algerian mother, his grasp of French is not perfect.

"Michael is a bit of an introvert. The important thing is that he is not introverted on the pitch," added Deschamps.

Not necessarily mastering the language has not mattered for a player who rarely gives interviews.

"Let's just say I prefer to talk with my feet," he told French sports daily L'Equipe recently.

The former Chelsea academy player initially emerged at Reading before joining Crystal Palace in 2021.

He made his name in the Premier League while in South London, where he got his debut under Patrick Vieira -- a World Cup winner with France in 1998.

"You could see the type of player he was, his ability," said Sweden coach Graham Potter, who came up against Olise while managing in England.

"I think players' journeys sometimes, they're not quite straight lines. Whereas with him, you could see that he was just ready to go."

Vieira described him to L'Equipe as "a future Ballon d'Or winner" -- maybe even this year if he keeps playing like this at the World Cup.

B.AbuZeid--SF-PST