Michael Olise’s Instagram pictures are distinctly different. A homage to Florence Pernet, a Paris-based photographer, Olise posts pictures in a ‘TV Grid’ style, deliberately creating a surreal, nostalgic mood.

I know football fans are usually very divided in their opinions. But every single one of them watching the World Cup must concur: Michael Olise simply stands out from the rest.

It was 34:59 on the game clock when an astray clearance looped up just inside Sweden’s 18-yard box. The French cannonade until then didn’t find the desired target thanks to the combination of the goalposts and the saves by Sweden’s keeper. 

As the ball was falling towards him, Olise contorted his body and unleashed an insane bicycle kick, which ricocheted off the goalpost and found its way to Ousmane Dembele, whose curler whistled just outside the goal. 

If that outrageous effort had gone in, Olise’s first goal in this World Cup could have been one of the best World Cup goals ever. Michael Olise is simply that kind of footballer.

In this era of wingers passing the ball back to midfielders or full-backs in fear of a counterattack happening, Olise is very happy to take on his man all day long. This season at Bayern München, under the tutelage of Vincent Kompany, Olise became one of Europe’s very best attackers, registering 48 G/A contributions in the process of helping Bayern win a Bundesliga-DFB Pokal double. 

Reaching the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League, Olise and his compatriots couldn’t overcome PSG, the reigning and soon-to-be-crowned Parisian juggernauts who can boast of the services of the likes of current Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and one of the brightest young prospects in world football, Désiré Doué. Both are Olise’s national colleagues. With Kylian Mbappé and Bradley Barcola in their ranks, France have the most fearsome attack in this World Cup. And Olise is the one pulling the strings.

Olise has five assists in this World Cup. The record for the most assists by a player in a single edition belongs to Pelé, who registered six in the 1970 World Cup. The trio of Mbappé, Olise, and Dembele are being compared to the best international attacking trio of this century, Ronaldo-Rivaldo-Ronaldinho, who brought Brazil their penta in 2002. 

Olise’s exquisite first touch in and around the box, and the ability to thread a ball through the tightest of angles with the perfect weight of pass, are astounding. Olise is wreaking havoc on opposition defences. Operating as the number 10 in Didier Deschamps’ 4-2-3-1 formation, Olise has the full freedom to showcase his footballing brain. 

With the pace and goalscoring prowess of Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembele, Olise, being a ‘thinking footballer’ who converts delicate first touches into a high-quality pass faster than anyone else currently, allows France to be the favourites in this tournament.

Didier Deschamps’ World Cup-winning team of 2018 and the runners-up team of 2022 didn’t have this sort of attacking dimension. Despite all his success as a coach of the national team (Deschamps is part of a three-man group of World Cup-winning captains and coaches, alongside Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer), Deschamps’ teams have sometimes been rightly criticised for being detrimentally conservative. This French team is different. 

The cohesion, patterns of play, and dazzling displays of individual brilliance mean France are in cruise control in the pursuit of a third World Cup trophy. France’s attack moves like a high-amplitude oscillatory system, with Olise being the driving force. 

As French legend and Olise’s coach at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Thierry Henry, said, Kylian Mbappé will always be the MVP, but Michael Olise is the Most Important Player.

Amidst the murmurs of a record transfer looming from Real Madrid, Olise is lighting up this World Cup. He is one of those rare footballers who can make even seasoned pundits rise out of their seats. 

The brilliance of Olise is in full flow. If anything, the bicycle kick proved Michael Olise also has unbridled amounts of audacity, the very best of its kind.