Olise nets hat-trick as France ease past Northern Ireland in final World Cup warm-up

Michael Olise netted a spectacular hat-trick as France eased past Northern Ireland (3-1) in the final match of their warm-up for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

Perfect prep for Senegal

This was France's final game before heading across the Atlantic for the World Cup. The defeat against the Ivory Coast last week in Nantes was underplayed and rightly so. After all, Didier Deschamps did make 10 changes on the day, including five at half-time.

If that game was about sharing the minutes and bringing players up to speed, this one was about ironing out details and truly preparing for the opener against Senegal. As expected, a strong line-up was therefore fielded.

The likes of Kylian Mbappé, Olise, Ousmane Dembélé, and William Saliba, for example, all started in Lille. However, it took Les Bleus a while to break down a stoic Northern Ireland defence.

The opener came through Olise. It was a direct attack, instigated by Dayot Upamecano's sprayed cross-field ball. Désiré Doué controlled, played it into Dembélé, whose deflected shot fell perfectly for Olise to finish first time (43').

Olise carrying club form into World Cup

The Bayern Munich forward quickly doubled his tally on the night just after half-time. Once again, Olise was opportunistic, capitalising on a poor clearance by Trai Hume to tuck home (49'). It was quite the finish, mind, a thunderous half-volley from the edge of the box. Quite the finish from the former Crystal Palace man, who then had 56 goal contributions to his name this season; he would add a 57th before the end of the night.

A fantastic tifo for our final warm-up match before the World Cup! 🇫🇷🔥 pic.twitter.com/iiRemzuuhe
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 8, 2026

Maxence Lacroix then went in search of his first goal in Bleu. He found himself charging in on a cutback, but, finishing first time, his effort blazed over the bar (63').

Moments later, Northern Ireland worked an improbable route back into the game. Dayot Upamecano was beaten, with he and Shea Charles going down in a duel. The latter got up quickly, however, squaring for Patrick Kelly to slot into the net (64').

France almost restored their two-goal cushion. Olise's through-ball was sublime, but going away from goal, Mbappé couldn't find the target with his finish (73'). But Olise then got the third himself moments later. Cutting off the right-hand side, he then curled a spectacular left-footed effort into the top corner from outside the box (74'). A truly exceptional moment of quality. It was the first hat-trick from a France player since Mbappé versus Gibraltar back in November 2023.

The win means that France head to the USA full of confidence. Senegal, Norway, and Iraq await Les Bleus in Deschamps' final tournament as manager.

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