3-1. A hat-trick by Olise gives France hope

France secured a convincing 3-1 victory over Northern Ireland in their final World Cup preparation match, thanks to a stellar hat-trick from attacker Michael Olise. This win served as a crucial confidence boost, helping the French team recover from an unexpected 2-1 defeat against Ivory Coast the previous week.

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If, as many claim, the Bayern Munich player, Michael Olise, is the 'galactico' for whom the newly re-elected Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, will make a 150 million euro offer, that offer might fall short.

Olise, who has been the subject of transfer speculation with Real Madrid reportedly preparing a €150 million offer, demonstrated his scoring prowess at the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium in Lille. He opened the scoring in the 43rd minute, tapping in a loose ball inside the Northern Ireland box after a swift French transition involving Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembélé.

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France clearly beat Northern Ireland 3-1, in the closing of their World Cup preparations.

His opportunistic scoring continued in the second half. Four minutes after the restart, Olise capitalized on a defensive clearance to double France's lead. He completed his hat-trick in the 75th minute with a signature curling strike into the far corner, a goal described as his trademark. This performance marked a significant contribution from the player, who has now scored seven goals in seventeen appearances for the national team.

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Olise, who scored his seventh goal in seventeen matches for the 'Bleus', showed a previously unknown facet of his game on the pitch at Lille's Pierre-Mauroy stadium: that of a goalscorer.

While Olise shone, Kylian Mbappé was less fortunate. He had a goal disallowed in the 21st minute due to an offside call against Desire Doue in the build-up. This disallowed goal means Mbappé must wait for another opportunity to match Oliver Giroud's record as France's all-time leading scorer with 57 goals. The match was attended by 43,272 spectators.

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A facet of opportunism that Michael Olise once again displayed four minutes into the second half, taking advantage of a defensive clearance after a header by Théo Hernandez to score the momentary 2-0.