2026 FIFA World Cup: Olise beats Messi to Pele's record

France attacking midfielder Michael Olise has etched his name into football history by shattering the all-time record for the most assists in a single FIFA World Cup campaign.

The Bayern Munich star reached the unprecedented milestone during France's pulsating 6-4 defeat to England in the 2026 World Cup third-place play-off at the Miami Stadium on Saturday.

Olise entered the bronze medal match with five assists, leaving him just one shy of the legendary benchmark set by Pelé.

The Brazilian icon famously registered six assists during Brazil's triumphant 1970 FIFA World Cup campaign in Mexico, an achievement that stood completely untouched for 56 years.

Against England, Olise delivered a playmaking masterclass to eclipse the historic record.

He provided two crucial setups, culminating in a brilliant one-two combination with Kylian Mbappé in the 66th minute to record his seventh assist of the tournament.

Olise’s staggering tally of seven assists was accumulated across four matches, beginning with an assist in the group stage against Senegal, before adding a pair in their second fixture against Iraq.

He matched that output in the knockout rounds, delivering two assists during France's 3-0 Round of 32 victory over Sweden. 

Following a brief creative drought in the subsequent fixtures against Paraguay, Morocco, and Spain, Olise unleashed his final two assists against England to claim the record outright.

However, his historic achievement was aided by the tournament's expanded format, which allowed him to play eight matches compared to the six games Pelé required to set the original benchmark in 1970.

Ironically, despite his sublime distribution and instant on-pitch chemistry with Mbappé, Olise finished the tournament without a single goal of his own after failing to convert any of his 20 shot attempts.

By reaching seven assists, Olise has all but secured the tournament's playmaker crown ahead of Argentina captain Lionel Messi.

Messi, who has enjoyed a phenomenal campaign with four assists, would need an improbable three assists in Sunday's final against Spain to match Olise's tally.

While the single-tournament assist record now belongs to the Frenchman, Messi's focus will shift toward catching another French star in the scoring charts. 

Mbappé's brace against England pushed his all-time World Cup goalscoring record to an astounding 22 goals. Messi, who currently sits on 21 all-time goals following his eight strikes in 2026, is chasing Mbappé for both the all-time scoring crown and the 2026 Golden Boot as he seeks to lead Argentina to back-to-back titles.