Didier Deschamps on Michael Olise: “The more often he gets on the ball, the better.” | OneFootball

In the wake of France’s win over Senegal in their World Cup opener, Didier Deschamps was notably asked about the match-changing switch he made in moving Michael Olise into a central position.

Having struggled on the right wing in the first half, the Bayern Munich man switched positions with Ousmane Dembélé after the break. The move had an instant impact, with Olise notably setting up Kylian Mbappé on the hour mark for the opening goal of the match.

“Ousmane is also used to playing on the right wing,” the head coach pointed out. “He’s used to playing high up the pitch and can take on players. Michael is able to play between two lines, the midfield and the defence, and find the forwards, whether it’s Kylian, or Désiré Doué, or Bradley Barcola.”

“It can change over the course of the game. I made the change today because I thought it would help us link up better. He can play on both sides, but the more often he gets on the ball, the better. It created more danger, and Kylian was clinical for us.”

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from the New York New Jersey Stadium