Michael Olise made FIFA World Cup history for France as he recorded his seventh assist of the 2026 World Cup in their 6-4 loss against England, moving past Pelé to set a new record for the most assists in a single tournament, Bundesliga.com reports.
The previous record at a single tournament was set by Brazilian great Pelé at the 1970 edition in Mexico, with six assists. Now, 56 years later, there is a new name at the top of the tree.
Olise set up his first goal at the World Cup 2026 in France’s opener against Senegal, supplying Kylian Mbappé with the first of Les Bleus’ three goals that day.
Also Read: Real Madrid Deny Any Attempt To Sign Olise
He then recorded braces of assists against both Iraq and Sweden to put him within touching distance of the longstanding record.
His passes for Kylian Mbappé’s ninth and tenth goals of the tournament in a thrilling bronze final against England took him past the Brazilian great to seven assists.
The Bayern winger’s extraordinary form this summer is a continuation of the world-beating performances he produced for his club in 2025/26, as he recorded 15 goals and 19 assists in the Bundesliga alone – as the Bavarians stormed to a league and DFB Cup double.
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Just a few years ago, Olise and Eze were team mates at Crystal Palace. Unknown, unheralded.
Now look at them, tussling for the ball in a world cup game.
Two guys who could have been wearing the Nigeria colors, if we had a competent football federation.
Imagine a Nigeria with Eze, Olise, Saka and others in the squad. It might be Nigeria playing in the world cup final today if this was the case.
Talking about the final, the Mighty Midget will be leading out his Argie army for a world cup game one last time, and standing between them and the trophy is the Red Fury, the Spanish Armada.
It’s South America vs Europe.
Both continents usually rotate the trophy every world cup year. Starting from 1970 (Brazil), 1974 (West Germany), 1978 (Argentina), 1982 (Italy), 1986 (Argentina), 1990 (Germany), 1994 (Brazil), 1998 (France), 2002 (Brazil), 2006 (Italy), 2010 (Spain), 2014 (Germany), 2018 (France), 2022 (Argentina).
From 1970 to 2006, it was turn by turn between South America and Europe. But from 2006 to 2018, it was all Europe, until Argentina broke their stranglehold in 2022. So since the last winner was South America, is the trophy heading to Europe next?
It”s incredible that the Argies have made 3 consecutive world cup finals, in 2018, which they lost to France, 2022 which they won, and now 2026. The only other team that is as successful as the Argies is France, who also made the finals in 2018 and 2022, and got to the semis in 2026.
So who will carry the day?
Lord have Messi. It promises to be an epic battle.
Argentina didn’t reach the final in 2018. It was Croatia and France that played the final. They lost to France in the R16.
These alternating wins between South America and Europe reminded me of my UG days, when a certain professor alternated questions between The Lord and Saint John. An astute student soon deduced the pattern, even in the days when there were no cell phones. That year, he was sure the question would be about Saint John, because the previous year it was on The Lord. But come exam time, the question was on The Lord! That was devastating, cheating. Was he seeing double? He rubbed his eyes and stared at the question sheet. He asked for a glass of water–but nothing changed.
Time was ticking off. Like a thunderstorm, the solution came with a clang. He picked up his pen and wrote: “Who am I to write about The Lord? I better write about the Holy Saint John.” He proceeded to give a detailed answer. Of course, he earned 0% and returned for a resit exam, popularly called the Second Missionary Journey, in my days.
The coda? Don’t wager on Spain to lift it.