France may have beaten Senegal 3-1, but the biggest story wasn’t Kylian Mbappé breaking another record. It was the glimpse of a partnership that could define the next era of French football.
For years, Antoine Griezmann was the man feeding Mbappé. Now, Michael Olise looks ready to take that role. The moment Olise slipped a perfect pass through for Mbappé’s opener, it felt inevitable. One sees the run before it happens, the other finishes it. That’s elite chemistry.
The experiment with Ousmane Dembélé in a central role simply didn’t work. At PSG, he thrives as a false nine because the entire system is built around him. With France, the attack belongs to Mbappé. Dembélé looked disconnected, struggled to influence play, and often occupied the same spaces as Olise and Doué. France lacked rhythm, movement, and creativity until Deschamps moved Olise into the middle.
Once that switch happened, everything changed. France looked faster, sharper, and far more dangerous. Olise became the link between midfield and attack, exactly the role Griezmann mastered for years.
That’s why the answer is becoming clear. Dembélé is still a world-class player, but not as France’s No. 10. His best chance is out wide, where his pace and unpredictability can hurt defenders without disrupting the Mbappé-Olise connection.
This France team is built around one man: Mbappé. He is the finisher, the leader, and now the nation’s all-time top scorer. To get the best from him, France need creators who can find his runs. Right now, nobody does that better than Olise.
If France are going to lift another World Cup, the road runs through the growing partnership of Mbappé and Olise. The scary part for the rest of the world? They’re only just getting started.
