Michael Olise was once again the man of the match in France’s spectacular 4-1 victory over Belgium. The Bayern star entered the game an hour in with the score at 0-1 and single-handedly turned the match around with two goals and an assist.
Even before Olise began his stellar performance, however, the 24-year-old provided a curious moment. Immediately upon entering the game, he was suddenly handed the captain’s armband—and at first, he apparently didn’t quite know what to do with it.
Ousmane Dembélé handed the armband to Olise as he left the field. The otherwise rather reserved Bayern player initially looked visibly surprised and bewildered. The scene quickly went viral on social media.
Olise was only supposed to pass the captain’s armband on
However, anyone who suspected a surprise promotion for the Bayern star upon seeing the handoff was quickly set straight. Olise was merely supposed to pass the captain’s armband on to Jules Koundé.
Dembélé had previously led France as acting captain, as the regular captain, Kylian Mbappé, was sidelined due to injury. After Dembélé was substituted, Koundé took over the role until the final whistle.
However, the possibility that Olise might one day actually take on a leadership role with the Équipe Tricolore does not seem out of the question. National team coach Zinédine Zidane had recently praised the Munich player explicitly for his qualities as a leader.
🚨 OLISE DIDN’T EXPECT THAT 😭
Michael Olise looks genuinely surprised after being handed the captain’s armband during France vs. Belgium 😂 https://t.co/3UwUMM3PRk
— Football on Predict (@FConPredict) October 5, 2026
“Off the field, he’s a bit reserved and shy. But that’s totally fine, because on the field he’s not shy at all—with the way he plays, he’s a natural-born leader,” Zidane explained on Téléfoot.
After a bizarre scene, the Olise show begins
Just a few minutes after the mix-up over the captain’s armband, Olise impressively demonstrated exactly what Zidane meant. France was still trailing 0–1 when he entered the game. After that, the match turned completely around.
Olise first set up Rayan Cherki’s goal to make it 2–1. In the 88th minute, he scored himself to make it 3–1, before sealing the 4–1 final score with his second goal in stoppage time. Three direct goal contributions in just 30 minutes made him the decisive player of the evening.
Overall, the international break was also outstanding for the Bayern star. Olise was involved in at least one goal in all four matches under Zidane. In the first match against Belgium, he scored the winning goal; against Italy, he scored on a free kick; and against Turkey, he also contributed to a goal.
Zidane recently raved: “He shows his full talent with the ball. He’s been a fixture here for some time now and is doing very well at his club.”
Although Olise wore the captain’s armband for only a few seconds against Belgium, the 24-year-old has long been taking on more and more responsibility for France on the field.