Michael Olise has completed 11 through balls at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, putting him one short of the benchmark Xavi Hernandez set during Spain’s triumphant 2010 campaign. The stat, verified by Opta as of July 1, 2026, positions Olise as the tournament’s most creative force by a metric that specifically measures the hardest kind of pass in football: the one that splits an entire defensive line.
Completing 11 through balls in a single tournament is borderline absurd. To put it in context, Xavi’s 12 in 2010 came during a Spain side that dominated possession to a degree that made opponents look like spectators. That team won the whole thing. Olise is operating in a France setup that, while talented, doesn’t control the ball with the same suffocating grip Spain did in South Africa.
Olise’s trajectory has been one of the more compelling arcs in European football. The attacking midfielder moved to Bayern Munich and quickly established himself as a player whose vision operates on a different frequency than most of his peers. His club form clearly translated to the international stage, where France has leaned heavily on his ability to unlock packed defenses, with Olise frequently deployed in central areas to orchestrate attacks.
