Football
Embarrassed! Michael Olise dodges ‘Ballon d’Or’ chants
Michael Olise was unstoppable as France came from a goal behind to defeat Belgium 4-1 in their Nations League clash.
The Bayern Munich playmaker started from the bench and produced a devastating second-half cameo to help Zinedine Zidane continue his good run as France coach.
Coming off the bench in the 60th minute for Ousmane Dembele, Olise took just ten minutes to rip through the Belgian defence. He registered two goals and an assist in the closing stages.
Alongside Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki, Olise spearheaded a youthful revolution that got fans chanting “Olise, Ballon d’Or” from the stands.
Zinedine ZIDANE speaks with Michael OLISE before he was brought on against Belgium. (Photo by Baptiste Fernandez/Icon Sport via Getty Images)
However, despite the overwhelming praise from the home crowd, Olise appeared visibly uncomfortable with the spotlight.
When asked directly about the “Ballon d’Or” chants by TF1 on the pitch, the winger was quick to shut down the individual narrative. “I have nothing to say,” he replied curtly before heading toward the tunnel, as cited by RMC Sport.
Michael Olise celebrates scoring France’s first goal with Rayan Cherki. (Photo by Pauline Figuet/Getty Images)
Reflecting on the match, he preferred to focus on how the team overcame a difficult start against a disciplined Belgian setup. “We played well at the end,” he said. “The first half was difficult. Against low blocks, it is always difficult but after we continued and at the end it was good.”
Olise also credited this turnaround directly to the new strategic vision under Zidane, emphasizing the squad’s complete buy-in.
He noted: “Zinedine Zidane brings ideas and we follow them. We did well in the four matches and we’ll continue like this. It’s a pleasure to play here with the French national team. There are many quality players.”
Olise has become a statistical anomaly since Zidane took the reins, with four goals and two assists in his first four matches under the new coach.
He will be eager to continue the good form when international football resume in November. In that period, France faces a daunting away fixture against Italy before hosting Turkiye in their final group outing.