Bayern Munich star receives maiden call-up to French national team

It has today been confirmed that Bayern Munich attacker Michael Olise has been handed his maiden call-up to the France senior men's football team, for their nations league games against Italy and Belgium next month. Club team-mate Dayot Upamecano is also in the squad.

Olise was born and raised in Hammersmith to a Nigerian Father and a French-Algerian Mother. As a result, he was eligible to represent England, Nigeria, Algeria and France at international level. The latter has proven to be the side for him.

A lot of fans felt that Olise deserved a call up for the European Championships in the summer, and felt vindicated when France looked very rigid and uninspiring throughout the whole tournament.

Olise did get his chance to represent France during the summer when he was called up by then manager Thierry Henry to France's Olympics squad. The 22-year-old winger was the star performer for France throughout the tournament, helping the team to win the silver medal. Olise has also enjoyed a good start to life at Bayern. The French winger's performances over the summer forced Didier Deschamps hand to pick him in the squad for the games during September international break.

Where can Olise fit into Deschamps' French team?

Deschamps likes to go with three battering rams in midfield, often selecting Aurelien Tchoumeni, Ngolo Kante, and one of Adrien Rabiot or Eduardo Camavinga throughout the Euros campaign.

As a result, this means Olise is more likely to play on the right-wing than as a 'number ten' for Les Blues. However, in the quarter-final against Portugal at the Euros, he did set up with a diamond formation. This set up is what Henry used throughout the Olympic games, with Olise as the number ten.

The Elephant in the room is that Antoine Griezmann, who played as the number ten in the game against Portugal, is a known favourite of Deschamps. Aside from two friendlies he was injured for in March of this year, Griezmann has played every single game for France since June 2017.

Having said that, Griezmann was only a substitute in the semi-final defeat to Spain. Griezmann will be 35 by World Cup 2026, so Deschamps needs to look at the future. This could lead to Olise getting regular minutes in the number ten position. In addition, during Nations League games, Deschamps is unlikely to use the ultra-conservative approach of three defensive-minded midfielders, so there could be room for both Griezmann and Olise.

As we know, the France team is full of runners. The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Marcus Thuram, Randal Kolo-Muani and so on. They can complement Olise in the attack as he loves to find runners with through balls and put them in behind the opposition backline.