EXCLUSIVE | Michael Owen on Michael Olise: ‘He’s lethal and would walk into any team in the world’ | OneFootball

Ahead of the World Cup semi-finals, Get French Football News asked former England star striker Michael Owen about the tournament’s current top scorers – in particular Kylian Mbappé – as well as his thoughts on Michael Olise.

You don’t often get so many of global football’s big names all firing at once in the same tournament. Is there any particular reason why all the top scorers are doing so well this year or is it just a coincidence? Does it say something about the quality of the players or the lack of quality of the defenders?

Well it’s a bigger discussion but FIFA has diluted this competition very much this time by putting in a lot more teams, so players are scoring more goals and all the records of yesteryear are almost irrelevant nowadays. You look at someone like Pelé and the goals he scored and nowadays you can get any Tom, Dick or Harry scoring! I mean they’re talking about 64 teams at the next one and don’t get me wrong – I’ve loved it and it’s spread the football word to so many people around the world and that’s fantastic – I’m sure the people of Cape Verde have fallen in love with football more than ever before – but on the flipside it’s almost ruined the history of the game. Maybe ruined is a bit strong, but you have all these records that have lasted for ages – it takes a real gem of a player to go and compete with a Pelé or something – and now, in 12 years’ time, we’re going to have 50 players who have outscored Pelé and 30 of them we’ll never even have heard of! I’m exaggerating to make a point, but you know what I mean – it’s been great in certain ways but it’s killed a lot about the history of football that we know and love.

Kylian Mbappé is at 20 goals in 20 World Cup appearances. Where do you think he ranks in terms of France greats such as Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Antoine Griezmann?

By the end of his career he could very much be the greatest of all. He’s already had a major influence – I mean scoring a hat-trick in a World Cup final – it’s just a shame that France lost because if they had won with a hat-trick, that engrains you into the fabric of French football for life. My prediction – which is hardly a brave one – is that he is probably going to surpass everybody by the time he finishes his career.

Mbappé also benefits from the service of Michael Olise. What makes him special, how much would you have liked to play in front of him – and do you think he would make the current England team had he chosen to represent them?

[Laughs] Would he have made the England team? He’d have walked into it! I think Olise is one of the very best players in the world now and I say that not as a kneejerk reaction but I think he has improved so much in the last year or two. He was always very good at Crystal Palace but he has just taken his game to a whole new level and has quickly developed into one of the most dangerous players in the world. He can dribbble, he can pass, he can run, he can score goals – he can do pretty much everything. He’s lethal and I think he would walk into any team in the world. I’ve been so impressed with him, and I’ve been so impressed with the rate of improvement in the last year or two.

The fight for the Ballon d’Or this World Cup is great. Erling Haaland may miss out now, Lionel Messi and Mbappé are out in front and Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham not far behind. Ousmane Dembélé is still a contender. Who do you think will come out on top?

It’s whoever wins the World Cup or get to the final of the World Cup. If I had to say, I’d probably say Mbappé. I think Mbappé is the best player in the world and I think France are going to win the World Cup. So I would say that Mbappé is going to win it. But if France don’t win the World Cup, then it could be Kane, it could be Bellingham, it could be anyone. But if I had to predict now I’d probably say Mbappé.

Michael Owen was speaking exclusively to Get French Football News via casino.org who are known for helping players compare trusted British online casino brands. 

GFFN | Jeremy Smith