Even before the start of the 2026 World Cup, France had the image of a potential champion team. In terms of performance so far, France's identity has become higher than that. France's level itself has been seen at a high level. Captain Kylian Mbappe's brilliant goal is responsible for France's performance so far. Michael Olis' creative play is also playing an equally big role. 

Coach Didier Deschamps has conducted many types of tests in the last few years. Finally, this coach is confident about some of his key players. He has given them important responsibilities. These aggressive players can fulfill France's dream of winning the title once again. As the competition progresses, the equation of who is where will change and may even become new. 

So far, France's performance has really been far ahead of the others. Olis is working to leave a deep mark in this. France easily defeated Sweden 3-0 in the last 32 match held on Wednesday in New Jersey. The football presented by France was exciting in itself. France have won four games so far and have scored 13 goals. 

France will now face Paraguay in the last 16. Olis is not among the goals scored by France so far, but after scoring two goals against Sweden, Mbappe's total number of goals in this World Cup has reached six. Another goal was scored by Bradley Barcola in that game. Similarly, Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele has scored four and Desiree Dou has scored one. 

Despite this, Olis's game against Sweden was excellent. He had an assist on two of France's goals. He is at the top of the list of players who have created goal chances in this World Cup. The Bayern Munich player almost came close to scoring his goal against Sweden when his bicycle kick hit the post. 

Mbappe himself has been impressed by Olis' game. He says, "His playing skills are excellent in themselves. But that bicycle kick didn't score." "That's what fans come to the stadium to watch." The exciting football France are playing now is also the final phase of Deschamps' 14-year tenure as coach. This style of football largely began in the quarter-finals of the Nations League last year, when France lost 2-0 in the first leg against Croatia. At that time, Deschamps made a big bold decision to remove one of his three defensive midfielders and replace him with another forward. After playing well in Olympic football, he was called up to the national team within six months. His role was to play as a number 10 behind Mbappe. In the second leg, Olis scored a brilliant free-kick and France managed to win the comeback. After that, what was needed was for him to become a regular in the French team, just like he did at Bayern.

He scored 22 goals as Bayern won the domestic league and cup and lost to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the Champions League semi-finals. It was his best performance of the entire season. 

Oliseh also scored a hat-trick in the 3-1 win over Northern Ireland just before the World Cup. Deschamps says, “Last season was very good for Oliseh.” He adds, “He still needs some time to prove himself as the best player in world football. The remarkable thing is that whenever he has the ball, something seems to happen.” 

Despite being such a key player for the team, Deschamps knows that Oliseh is a reticent person. He was born in London to a Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother. 

He himself cannot speak French. Deschamps says, “Olis is a bit of an introvert. The good news is that he is not like that on the pitch, at least.’ Olis, who rarely gives interviews to the media, has little to do with his poor French. 

He recently told French media, ‘My game speaks for itself, why should I open my mouth?’

He is a former Chelsea academy player who grew up in Reading. He joined Crystal Palace in 2021. While in south London, many in the Premier League began to take notice of his game. 

He made his debut for Palace alongside Patrick Vieira, who was the player who won the 1998 World Cup for France. Vieira describes him as a future Ballon d’Or winner. He says, ‘This World Cup will be a big opportunity for him, if he keeps playing like he is now.’ Meanwhile, Mbappe is doing well in the tournament. In the process, he also became the player who scored the most goals in the knockout stage of the World Cup in history. His number of goals in the knockout stage has reached 10. That was with his two goals against Sweden. He was previously tied with the record of 8 goals, when that number of goals was in the name of two old Brazilian players. They are Leandros da Silva and Ronaldo Nazario. Pele has also scored only seven goals in the knockout stage of the World Cup. He scored 3 goals in the knockout stage in 2018 and 5 goals in 2022. 

In the World Cup in Russia, Mbappe scored two goals against Argentina in the last 16 and one against Croatia in the final. In Qatar, after scoring 2 goals against Poland in the last 16, he scored an incredible hat-trick against Argentina in the final. But that time, France did not win the title. The team lost in a penalty shootout. This time, Mbappe has a chance to avenge a similar defeat.

Coach Deschamps is equally happy with the team's overall performance. He says, "This team is playing together now. When a team plays together, the performance reaches a different level.’