{"id":1605,"date":"2026-04-03T04:43:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T04:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/?p=1605"},"modified":"2026-04-03T04:43:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T04:43:51","slug":"thierry-henry-what-its-like-to-win-a-world-cup-lose-a-world-cup-and-coach-at-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/?p=1605","title":{"rendered":"Thierry Henry: What it\u2019s like to win a World Cup, lose a World Cup, and coach at one"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u201cYou know if something smells good and something doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a player and a coach, Thierry Henry has experienced the highs and lows of a World Cup campaign from every angle. The former France striker and Belgium assistant coach says he usually \u201chas a feeling\u201d around a camp on the eve of a tournament.<\/p>\n

In 1998, at the age of 20, he was an unlikely pick who ended the competition as both France\u2019s top scorer and a champion of the world.<\/p>\n

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\n Henry celebrates a goal with France teammate David Trezeguet during the 1998 World Cup. (Pedro Ugarte \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 2006, he was a beaten finalist against Italy.<\/p>\n

In 2002 and 2010, he was part of French teams that capitulated in the group stages.<\/p>\n

As an assistant coach, he supported head coach Roberto Martinez in guiding Belgium at the 2018 tournament, when the team reached the semifinal before losing to France, and in a disappointing campaign in 2022, when the team failed to get out of their group.<\/p>\n

Having been involved in six of the past seven World Cups, Henry is in demand by broadcasters and sponsors for the tournament in North America this summer.<\/p>\n

He will be a studio analyst for Fox Sports coverage in the United States, and he is speaking to The Athletic<\/em> as part of a promotion for Tequila Don Julio 1942, for which he stars in a commercial alongside double U.S. women\u2019s national team World Cup winners Tobin Heath and Christen Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Seventy days out from the 2026 World Cup, the identity of the 48 nations participating has been confirmed.<\/p>\n

Before anyone can succeed or fail at a tournament, however, they must actually get there.<\/p>\n

For coaches and players, now begins the most agonising period of all. For players, particularly those vying for a place in the most competitive squads, the uncertainty is palpable, as they await a phone call from the coach and a plane ticket to the tournament.<\/p>\n

For coaches and fans, these final weeks of domestic club seasons will be watched through their fingers, praying that injuries do not befall their most treasured players.<\/p>\n

In 1998, Henry was an emerging talent at Monaco, still only 20 and more of a wildcard pick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some difficulties towards the end of that season,\u201d he tells The Athletic<\/em>. \u201cI was on nobody\u2019s list (to go to the World Cup). Sometimes the media predicts who is going, who are the \u2018maybes\u2019, and who could be the surprise picks. I was not even among the surprises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henry played in every game of France\u2019s run to the final in a home tournament, scoring three goals. Unburdened by the innocence of youth, he did not obsess over the pressures of a tournament in the way that he says more senior players often do. \u201cI was just ready to break everything and just go out there and run,\u201d he grins.<\/p>\n

He had been promised by coach Aime Jacquet that he would play some part in the final, but France were 2-0 up against Brazil when Marcel Desailly\u2019s red card reduced the team to 10 men. Henry watched the entire game from the bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think about Thierry Henry. I think about France,\u201d he says. \u201cI remember in the final, just realizing that I was about to be a world champion. At one point, I looked at the clock and I knew we were 3-0 up. But I was still looking at the time and thinking, \u2018Something\u2019s gonna happen, this is weird, we\u2019re about to be world champions.\u2019 I remember thinking: \u2018Can they (Brazil) score three goals in 10 seconds?\u2019 I didn\u2019t want to jump too early, although you knew it was done. Then when the ref blew the whistle\u2026 I was 20\u2026 It\u2019s just like something that you don\u2019t believe, which you dream of, because that was also France\u2019s first World Cup.<\/p>\n

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\n Henry kisses the World Cup trophy after the 3-0 win against Brazil. (Antonio Scorza \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t grow up seeing France winning it. The generation before won the Euros in 1984, but they lost two World Cup semifinals (in 1982 and 1986). It was always the thing that France could never do.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou finally get over the line and everything comes back; how you started, how I nearly didn\u2019t make the squad, too many things at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Henry, his first World Cup was his greatest. In 2002, he came off a Premier League and FA Cup double with Arsenal and was one of Europe\u2019s best strikers, while France also won the Euros in 2000. Then France lost the opening match against Senegal and never recovered.<\/p>\n

\u201c2002 was a big shock because we were the best team in the world by a distance,\u201d he says. \u201cWe were at our peak and, unfortunately, I arrived injured. Zizou (Zinedine Zidane) arrived injured. Things didn\u2019t look the same way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, in 2006, we wanted to show everybody, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re back.\u2019 We fell short in the final against Italy and lost on penalties. We had a great history against Italy by beating them in \u201998 in the quarterfinals and in Euro 2000 in the finals. It was just their turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Henry removes his runners-up medal after the 2006 final defeat to Italy. (Aris Messinis \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As both a coach and player, Henry has experienced the highs and lows of a World Cup campaign. He says he usually \u201chas a feeling\u201d around a camp on the eve of a tournament. \u201cYou know if something smells good and something doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you have reasons for that. I will give you the first one. As players, you don\u2019t have the opportunity to prepare for a tournament. Sometimes, guys from big teams join late after the Champions League final. They arrive and there is no real cohesion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen an athlete goes to the Olympic Games, they prepare for six to seven months to be able to perform. As a footballer, you don\u2019t have the chance to prepare for the World Cup. You come after 70 games and then people say you\u2019ve got to perform now,<\/em> with all those games in your legs or the pressure of this<\/em> or that<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen people arrive in camp injured or have to go above an injury. If you see one of your best players in that way\u2026 it creates in the press or among the fans a little doubt that sometimes you carry throughout the whole tournament because the guy is not ready. There are so many components.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, there are the tournaments where it all comes together, where players arrive fresh and fewer of them are embroiled in last-gasp title fights or high-octane finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you just lost a final (for your club), you have to play again and perform in (a different competition)\u2026 mentally it is not easy. I saw it as a player and I saw it even more as a coach.<\/p>\n

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\n Henry, centre, was a losing Champions League finalist in 2006 with Arsenal before heading to the World Cup. (Gabriel Bouys \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI think about the preparation as an assistant coach. Some guys arrived and had played 70 plus games, but some had played 40, some 15, and some were injured. You have to get them to the same physical level in 10 days. How do you do that? You can\u2019t push the guy that did 72 games, but you have to push the guy that had 40 games, and you have to kill the guy that doesn\u2019t have enough time (to be ready).\u201d<\/p>\n

An example for Henry came in the Belgium squad in 2018, when forward Eden Hazard arrived with far more games under his belt at Chelsea that season than centre-back Vincent Kompany at Manchester City, who at that time needed to manage his body extremely carefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t push Eden too much, but you have to push Vincent a bit more\u2026 but you can\u2019t push it too much because you don\u2019t want him to get injured again. Those are the two extremes. That\u2019s something that I couldn\u2019t care less about as a player. I trained, finished, and went to chill. Then I see it from the other side. I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s what it is!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes coaches were asking me how I felt and I\u2019m like, \u2018I\u2019ll tell you later.\u2019 There is no later! We need to prepare for the training session! So I became the guy asking, \u2018Are you training? Are you not training? Where are you at? How are you physically? I need to know now because we cannot lose time.’\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenge is not only physical, but also about psychology and harmony. France, this summer, have an astonishing array of attacking talent. Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Hugo Ekitike, Rayan Cherki, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Marcus Thuram will all be in the frame for Didier Deschamps\u2019 side.<\/p>\n

Henry, who coached the French team that finished runners-up at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has particularly fond memories of coaching Manchester City\u2019s unique playmaker Cherki.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ball is not his enemy, that is for sure,\u201d says Henry, smiling. \u201cRayan is a joy to work with. Easy on the eye. Right foot, left foot: I never saw a guy who could do exactly the same thing at any speed. Any skill you want with both feet, he is outstanding.<\/p>\n

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\n Cherki warming up before a game at the Paris Olympics. (Nicolas Tucat \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHe can change the course of the game just like that,\u201d Henry says, clicking his fingers. \u201cHe knows it. We need to find a way for him to be comfortable on the field. When he\u2019s in that space, it can be very good, and in terms of work, he knows he is not the finished article.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, how does Deschamps decide between all those talented attacking players?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will always be about balance,\u201d says Henry. \u201cBut we are blessed in France. It\u2019s on Didier to make sure that he can find that cohesion. But when you look at other teams, you can say the same when you look at the Portugal midfield. England, the team that they have. Messi and Argentina. But I\u2019m French. That\u2019s who I\u2019m going to root for.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big thing at the World Cup is to keep everyone happy, even the guys that don\u2019t play. During the tournament, it\u2019s not an easy task and something to deal with, to keep everyone pulling in the same direction. That\u2019s not easy. I realized when I crossed the line to the other side as a coach, trying to lift people who didn\u2019t play, as everyone wants to help. But Didier\u2019s record at the World Cup is just ridiculous really and he can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Deschamps took over after Euro 2012, France\u2019s record in major tournaments is: 2014 World Cup (quarterfinalists), Euro 2016 (runners-up), 2018 World Cup (champions), Euro 2021 (round of 16), 2022 World Cup (runners-up), Euro 2024 (semifinalists).<\/p>\n

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\n Henry at the Tequila Don Julio 1942 launch<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As for tactics, does Henry expect set pieces during this World Cup to have the emphasis we have seen, in particular, in the Premier League this season?<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did we win the World Cup in 1998?\u201d Henry asks, frowning.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s opening two goals by Zidane were both headers from corners.<\/p>\n

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\n (Dimitri Iundt\/Corbis\/VCG via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHow did Marseille win their only Champions League?\u201d<\/p>\n

Basile Boli headed in from a corner to defeat Milan in 1993.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did Man United win the treble?\u201d<\/p>\n

From two corner kicks against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in 1999.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Belgium, how did we lose our semifinal against France in 2018?<\/p>\n

A Samuel Umtiti header from a corner.<\/p>\n

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\n (Adrian Dennis \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d he shrugs. \u201cThat\u2019s my answer. I do not know why people are making a big fuss about a thing that has always been there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not a before or after. As teams have a set-piece coach now, they go a tiny bit deeper about it. But so many times the game has been unlocked or won in that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven our France final, also in 2006 against Italy, it was decided on penalties\u2026 but how did Italy equalise? Marco Materazzi \u2014 a header from a corner.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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