Thierry Henry: Michael Olise most important player in France side

Olise produced another masterclass as France swept past Sweden 3-0 in their FIFA World Cup round-of-32 clash in New Jersey on Tuesday. The 23-year-old set up two goals, taking his tournament-leading assist tally to five in just four appearances, and also came within inches of scoring a spectacular scissor-kick that rattled the post before Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring.

While Mbappe's brace lifted him to six goals at the tournament, Henry insisted it is Olise's all-round contribution that makes him indispensable to Les Bleus.

"MVP will always be Kylian, because he puts up numbers like nobody else can," Henry told FOX Sports. "But the most important player is Michael Olise."

The former France striker, who worked with Olise while coaching the national Under-23 side at the Paris Olympics, said the Bayern star possesses a unique understanding of the game.

"Michael is a freak. The way he sees stuff is just not the same as others see stuff," Henry said. "Sometimes he drifts a bit out of the game because he sees everything so perfectly and so quickly, but what a player."

Henry reserved special praise for Olise's work without possession, describing his defensive commitment as exceptional for such a gifted attacker.

"What he does off the ball is second to none. Usually, when you're that kind of guy, technical or whatnot, you forget about the defensive duties. He doesn't."

The former Arsenal and Barcelona forward revealed he had already seen signs of Olise's extraordinary talent during training sessions with the Olympic team.

"Sometimes he was doing stuff in training and you needed to hold yourself from going, 'wow'. You talk to your assistant and ask, 'Did you see what he just did?' This guy is on another planet."

Olise starred for Henry's Olympic side, helping France claim silver with two goals and five assists in six matches. Now operating in a central attacking role under Deschamps rather than on the right flank as he does for Bayern, he appears to have taken his game to another level.

With France's fearsome attack also featuring Mbappe and Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, Olise's creativity has become one of the driving forces behind their charge towards the World Cup title.

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