There was a party atmosphere in Lille as the home fans paid tribute to 2018 WC-winning manager Deschamps ahead of his expected departure after this summer’s tournament, and Les Bleus’ head coach picked a strong lineup for his side’s final game before they leave for North America.
Predictably, France dominated possession and Kylian Mbappé was thwarted one-on-one by Pierce Charles after 15 minutes, but Northern Ireland almost caught them on the break moments later when Patrick Kelly flashed a shot past the far post after he was released by Isaac Price.
That was a rare first half chance for the visitors, and Aurélien Tchouaméni thumped a shot against the post midway through the half with Désiré Doué squaring the rebound to Mbappé to tap home, but the offside flag was up.
Deschamps was more animated during the first-half drinks break than he might have expected, with Thursday’s shock 2-1 defeat by Ivory Coast perhaps fresh in his mind.
His mood will have improved two minutes before the break when France finally broke Northern Ireland’s resistance, as Ousmane Dembélé’s shot deflected into the path of Olise to convert from close range.
Jamie Donley then thought he had poked home an equaliser in first-half stoppage time, but Ruairi McConville was deemed to have pushed Theo Hernández in the build-up.
Jules Koundé sustained a knock late in the first half and was replaced by Malo Gusto at half time, potentially giving Deschamps an injury scare just eight days before France’s WC opener against Senegal.
Northern Ireland had generally kept Les Bleus at bay before the break but they found themselves two down just four minutes after the restart, when Olise rifled home after the ball fell loose inside the box.
France finally began to hit their stride, with Mbappé and Maxence Lacroix blazing over the crossbar in quick succession, but they were pegged back when Shea Charles outmuscled Dayot Upamecano and squared for Kelly to tap home his maiden senior international goal - and only Northern Ireland’s second-ever goal against Les Bleus.
Mbappé fired another effort off target as France began to look edgy again, but Olise calmed any nerves with a sumptuous curling effort into the far corner from the edge of the box to secure his hat-trick with his seventh senior international goal.
The victory extends Les Bleus’ unbeaten record against Northern Ireland to seven games (W5, D2) as they now turn their attention to their quest for a third WC crown, while the visitors do not return to action until they begin their UEFA Nations League campaign in September.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Michael Olise (France)
Catch up on all the match stats with Flashscore by clicking here
