Michael Olise hat-trick echoes Michel Platini in rare France feat | OneFootball

Michael Olise’s hat-trick against Northern Ireland, a 3-1 win on Monday, came from outside the out-and-out centre forward role, a rarity for France.

L'Équipe notes that not all France hat-tricks carry the same weight. Kylian Mbappé’s treble against Gibraltar in November 2023, a 14-0 win, contrasts with his 2022 World Cup final triple against Argentina, 3-3 after extra time and 4-2 on penalties. He also hit France’s only four since 1960, against Kazakhstan in November 2021, as a centre forward in an 8-0 win.

Olise’s display reflected his role. In Lille he operated mainly wide on the right, then briefly moved inside early in the second half to score his second. The last winger to net a France treble was Charly Loubet in 1967, in 11 minutes from the 42nd to the 53rd, against Luxembourg, a 3-1 win two days before Christmas.

In October 1985, Dominique Rocheteau struck three against the same opponent, a 6-0 win, while playing in a front two.

The benchmark remains Michel Platini at Euro 1984, two hat-tricks three days apart, each completed right foot, left foot and header. Against Belgium, a 5-0 win in Nantes, he stayed a classic No 10 as France shuffled, Luis Fernandez even starting at right-back, with Dominique Rocheteau and the centre forward Bernard Lacombe ahead.

Three days later in Saint-Étienne against Yugoslavia, a 3-2 win, Michel Hidalgo reshaped things at half-time. After almost a defensive midfield role, Platini went up top with Jean-Marc Ferreri right and Didier Six left, then scored from a six-yard angle via Ferreri, a diving header beyond the spot from Patrick Battiston’s cross, and a central direct free-kick. Beyond Mbappé’s World Cup final treble, for the beauty of the equaliser, the pressure of two penalties and the incomparable stakes, nobody has come close since. On Monday, Michael Olise set a date.

Source: L'Équipe