'My mother is from France' - Bayern winger Olise explains why he chose Les Bleus over Nigeria, England, Algeria

Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise is in line to play a cap-tying game for France on Friday, September 6 when they take on Italy in a UEFA Nations League clash at the iconic Parc des Princes in Paris.

Born in London to a Franco-Algerian mother and Nigerian father, the former Crystal Palace young sensation is also eligible to represent the Super Eagles, Three Lions and Desert Warriors but his status could change in two days time.

Olise has received his first call-up to France's senior national team and the forward will be part of manager Didier Deschamps' 23-man squad for the UEFA Nations League matches.

The quad-national player has never represented any other national team other than France, having played for them at U18, U21 and U23 levels.

Despite the Nigeria Football Federation's efforts to convince Olise to play for the Super Eagles, they were unsuccessful because he had already chosen to represent Les Bleus.

He was selected by Gernot Rohr, the then-coach of Nigeria, for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho, but he failed to appear for the games and skipped a planned meeting with former Nigerian Federation chief Amaju Pinnick in London prior to the 2022 World Cup.

At a press conference held at Clairefontaine on Tuesday, Olise was questioned about why he chose to represent France instead of Nigeria, England or Algeria.

In quotes relayed by RMC Sport, he answered: "My mother is from France. When I was little, I came here. I had this connection with France. I'm proud to be here."

Olise revealed that 1998 World Cup winners Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry were his idols growing up as a child and followed Les Bleus' performances closely.

"Zidane, Henry... There are a lot of quality players in this selection but I like these two players."

The 22-year-old Olise was arguably the standout performer at the 2024 Olympic Games, where he registered seven goal involvements (2 goals, 5 assists) in six matches to help France win a silver medal. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: fff.fr

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