The day undoubtedly belonged to former Chelsea Academy prospect Michael Olise, who scored all three goals for France in their 3-1 warm-up (and send-off) friendly win against Northern Ireland last night in Lille.
But Malo Gusto also had a pretty decent game after coming on at the half, collecting the assist on the third goal — even if the assist itself had little to do with the eventual goal. And Gusto had a hand in Olise’s second, too, starting the goal sequence in the penalty area with a good cross. So, a great day for Olise but also a pretty good day for Malo — who could be in line for the bulk of minutes at right back for France at the tournament proper — even if his rash missed challenge played a part in Northern Ireland’s goal.
Elsewhere, it was a less eventful day for Marc Cucurella in Spain’s 3-1 win over Peru in Puebla, Mexico, playing 70 minutes from the start, while Jorrel Hato was an unused substitute for the Netherlands in their 2-1 win over Uzbekistan that was played behind closed doors on Randalls Island in NYC.
Unlike most teams, the Dutch were actually treating this game as something more than just a fitness exercise, but they struggled to finish their chances. Hato did play 45 minutes in their first warm-up friendly, a 1-0 defeat against Algeria, so hopefully he will see some action at the World Cup as well. (Though they better start playing a bit better as a team as well…)
See More:
* [Chelsea FC: International Duty](/chelsea-fc-international-duty)
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