Michael Olise’s free-kick against Italy left its mark well beyond the 1-1 draw at the Stade de France. The Bayern Munich forward found the top corner after a carefully arranged set-piece, adding another moment to a growing reputation with France. Zidane praised him for doing “extraordinary things”, yet the goal also carried the imprint of Mike Maignan, the Milan goalkeeper whose instructions helped reshape Donnarumma’s view of the ball.
The coach and the club
Maignan’s contribution came from deep inside the French half rather than from the penalty area. Positioned to the right of the centre circle, the Milan goalkeeper repeatedly signalled to teammates preparing to stand near Italy’s five-man wall.
After Nicolò Fagioli’s foul on Rayan Cherki, France were awarded a free-kick at the right edge of the Italian box. Olise and Cherki stood over the ball, while Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot moved together towards the Italian defensive line.
Their purpose was to interfere with Gianluigi Donnarumma’s sightline. The two French players edged closer to the wall and its player lying behind it, encouraging the Italy goalkeeper to shift further towards his right. That adjustment opened more space at the far side of goal.
Maignan directed the positioning with clear gestures. Once the desired spot had been reached, his Milan teammate Rabiot acknowledged the message with a raised thumb. Cherki then rolled the ball into Olise’s path and the left-footed strike bent into the upper corner.
It was a familiar pattern for France. Maignan had performed a similar role on 23 March 2025, when France faced Luka Modrić’s Croatia in the Nations League at the same stadium.
That evening, a free-kick was placed in almost the same area outside the right side of the penalty box. Olise and Kylian Mbappé waited over it, with Croatia forming a five-man wall and placing a player behind it. Maignan, again stationed well away from the action and slightly right of centre, instructed Upamecano, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Ousmane Dembélé as they took positions designed to restrict Dominik Livaković’s reading of the possible delivery.
Mbappé shaped to take the kick, but Olise struck instead. His left-footed effort cleared the wall, clipped the crossbar and crossed the line for France’s second goal in a 2-0 win.
Olise’s growing place with France
The effort against Italy was Olise’s second direct free-kick goal for France, placing him among a small group in the modern era. Since 2000, only Dimitri Payet and Zidane had previously scored at least twice from free-kicks for the national team.
The goal was therefore an individual flourish, but not an isolated one. In both the Croatia match and Friday’s draw with Italy, France paired Olise’s delivery with work around the wall, and Maignan’s long-range organisation played a decisive part in creating the angle.
