Michael Olise became the player with the most assists in a single World Cup tournament since records began as he added two more to his tally in Saturday’s third-place playoff.
The France superstar entered Saturday’s game with five assists to his name but set up both strikes for Kylian Mbappé in a dazzling 6–4 defeat to England to end his tournament with a whopping seven assists.
Not since records began in 1966 has a player reached such lofty heights at a single World Cup tournament, with Pelé’s total of six assists from 1970 standing as the record-holder for 56 years before Olise claimed the honor as his own.
The Players With the Most Assists in a Single World Cup
| Player | Assists | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Olise (France) | 7 | 2026 |
| Pelé (Brazil) | 6 | 1970 |
| Robert Gadocha (Poland) | 5 | 1974 |
| Pierre Littbarski (West Germany) | 5 | 1982 |
| Diego Maradona (Argentina) | 5 | 1986 |
| Thomas Häßler (Germany) | 5 | 1994 |
Record Justifies Real Madrid’s Dream Pursuit of Olise
The pressure was on Olise all summer for a variety of reasons. Delivering for France in what is widely accepted to be the greatest forward line in international soccer weighed heavily on his shoulders but, with that all going on, questions about his club future only thrust Olise further into the spotlight.
Despite public instistence from Real Madrid and club president Florentino Pérez, Olise is believed to sit right at the top of Los Blancos’ wish list, earmarked as the next Galáctico capable of dragging the team out of the slump endured last season.
Bayern have, in typical fashion, bit back at the rumors and insisted even a world-record bid would not be enough to convince them to sell Olise who, according to both L’Équipe and BILD, has informed his France teammates of his wish to join Madrid.
With Bayern determined not to sell, it is clear Madrid will have to make Olise one of the most expensive players of all time to strike a deal, perhaps even needing to break the world record of Neymar’s €222 million ($264 million at the time) move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
That sort of money is reserved only for generational superstars, and Olise has undoubtedly added his name to that group of premier talents.
At club level, Olise ended the campaign with 22 goals and 31 assists across all competitions for Bundesliga champions Bayern. To then add a further seven assists in a single World Cup tournament and break a 56-year record held by the great Pelé proves the sort of quality we are talking about with Olise.
Madrid are expected to make a fresh move in pursuit of Olise over the coming weeks, but the 24-year-old’s place in World Cup history may have just added to his already enormous price tag.
