[ad_1]
Thierry Henry gained virtually every part attainable in a glittering profession as a participant and is now “dwelling a dream” as a coach after main hosts France to the ultimate of the Olympic males’s soccer. France are aiming to win gold for the second time, 40 years after their triumph in Los Angeles, and can face Spain within the last after narrowly avoiding a shock defeat in opposition to Egypt on Monday. Henry’s staff had been trailing 1-0 within the semi-final in Lyon however got here again to win 3-1, with Jean-Philippe Mateta equalising to power further time after which scoring once more within the 99th minute earlier than Michael Olise sealed the victory.
“I’m going to be trustworthy, I’m primarily glad for Crew France as a result of if you see everybody selecting up medals in all places, you say to your self which you can’t allow them to down,” Henry stated.
“You do not need to be the staff that does not win a medal, so at the very least that’s accomplished, and now we are going to see what color we get. However truthfully I’m dwelling a dream and I do not need to get up.”
Henry, who gained the Champions League with Barcelona and each the World Cup and European Championship with France as a participant, was appointed coach of France’s Underneath-21 and Olympic groups slightly below a yr in the past.
The 46-year-old will now lead them out on Friday within the last on the Parc des Princes, the identical floor the place France beat Spain within the last of the 1984 European Championship simply weeks earlier than their solely Olympic victory to this point.
“You know the way troublesome it’s going to be in opposition to them. They’re typically within the finals of competitions, in each males’s and ladies’s soccer,” Henry added of the Tokyo Olympic silver medallists who beat Morocco 2-1 of their semi-final.
France are assured a medal after making the ultimate regardless of failing to enrol the providers of full nationwide staff captain Kylian Mbappe and vice-captain Antoine Griezmann for the Olympic event.
As an alternative they’ve been led from the entrance by Lyon’s former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette, whereas their star man within the knockout rounds has been Mateta.
He scored 16 objectives within the Premier League final season for Crystal Palace, together with 14 in his final 16 video games.
Now he’s France’s high scorer on the Video games with 4 objectives, amongst them the winner in a fiery quarter-final in opposition to Argentina and his double in opposition to Egypt.
“It’s a dream to be within the last and I am unable to wait to be in Paris,” stated Mateta, who comes from the suburbs of the French capital.
“We now have been speaking in regards to the Video games for a yr and a half now and at last we get to go to Paris.”
Matters talked about on this article
[ad_2]
