France's comeback opens the record books: Dembélé in a dark tunnel and Olise writes history
Resounding victories with no end in sight, and France breaks the jinx!
France's crushing 4-1 win over Belgium was not merely a thrilling comeback in the scoreline. It carried a set of striking statistics too, from a historic low for Ousmane Dembélé to an exceptional mark for Michael Olise, plus a run of consecutive French victories over their Belgian neighbours.
Les Bleus turned their deficit into a comprehensive win after their attack came alive in the second half. Zinedine Zidane and his stars changed the course of the match in just 14 minutes, in the fourth round of the UEFA Nations League.
French outlet "Stats Foot" revealed that Ousmane Dembélé has failed to provide any goal contribution in his last four matches with the national team, registering "zero goals and zero assists".
That is the player's worst run with France since the period between November 2023 and September 2024, when he played nine matches without a goal contribution.
Michael Olise, by contrast, continued his historic brilliance with the national team. According to the French outlet, he has become "the first player in the history of the national team to contribute to goals in his first four matches under a new manager".
Olise contributed "four goals and two assists" across those matches, confirming his notable presence at the start of the Zidane era.
The outlet noted: "Michael Olise (11 goals and 11 assists) is the first player to contribute to 22 goals in his first 29 matches with the France national team since Youri Djorkaeff in 1997 (who contributed to 23 goals: 15 goals and 8 assists)".
It added: "Olise has scored four goals with the France national team against teams in the top ten of the FIFA rankings, equalling the record of David Trézéguet (also four goals) and surpassing Ousmane Dembélé (three goals)".
Désiré Doué, for his part, continues to post exceptional numbers whenever he finds the net. His record with club and senior national team since joining Paris Saint-Germain stands at "29 wins against one draw or one defeat".
Before Friday, France had not turned a half-time deficit into a win since "7 October 2021 against Belgium", the statistics clarified.
That 4-1 win also marks the first time France have scored four goals in a single match against Belgium since 28 June 1986, during the World Cup finals.
Les Bleus have now won the last eight official matches between the two sides, strengthening their dominance in competitive encounters.
For the first time in the history of their head-to-head meetings, France now lead Belgium in total number of victories, 31 wins to 30. The latest comeback gave them more than just three points.
