Michael Olise now holds a record that belonged to Pelé for more than half a century. The French winger recorded his seventh assist of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, surpassing the Brazilian legend’s mark of six assists set during the iconic 1970 tournament in Mexico.
A record 55 years in the making
Pelé’s 1970 World Cup performance is widely considered one of the greatest individual tournament runs in football history. Brazil won every game, scored 19 goals, and Pelé orchestrated much of the attack with six assists. That number stood untouched through 13 subsequent World Cups.
Olise, who plays club football for Bayern Munich, had already turned heads earlier in the tournament by racking up five assists in just four matches. That pace hadn’t been seen since 1994.
The 2026 World Cup is the first to feature 48 teams, expanded from the traditional 32-team format. More teams means more matches, which naturally inflates counting stats across the board. Hosted across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, this tournament was always going to produce bigger numbers.
