Michael Olise scored his first international hat-trick for France on Monday evening as Didier Deschamps’ side completed their pre-World Cup preparations with a 3-1 friendly victory over Northern Ireland in Lille. The 24-year-old Bayern Munich superstar dominated the encounter, securing a clinical treble to give Les Bleus a vital confidence boost ahead of their trip to North America.
Sky Sports and The Belfast Telegraph tracked the live action as Olise opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, latching onto a deflected Ousmane Dembélé effort to break the deadlock just before the interval. He doubled his tally early in the second half with an emphatic close-range finish in the 48th minute, before Northern Ireland midfielder Patrick Kelly briefly cut the deficit to 2-1 with a well-taken goal in the 63rd minute.
Olise completed his historic hat-trick in spectacular fashion in the 74th minute. The inverted right winger collected the ball on the flank, skipped past multiple Northern Irish defenders, and curled a stunning 20-yard strike into the top corner. Having secured the match ball, Olise was substituted in the 82nd minute to a standing ovation from the home crowd, replaced by Maghnes Akliouche as Deschamps managed workloads ahead of the tournament kickoff.
The clinical performance caps off a remarkable week for the forward, who was officially named the 2026 UNFP Best French Player Abroad following his record-breaking 61-goal-contribution domestic campaign with Bayern Munich. France will now depart Europe for their base camp in the United States before opening their official Group stage campaign against Senegal later this month.
