Football: Thierry Henry leaves his position as coach of the French Espoirs team

Thierry Henry n’est plus le sélectionneur de l’équipe de France Espoirs. MAXPPP – Peter Byrne

Thierry Henry a décidé de quitter son poste de sélectionneur de l’équipe de France Espoirs après avoir atteint la finale des Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024, a annoncé ce lundi 19 août la Fédération française de football.

The former 1998 world champion (47 years old), who was appointed last summer and was under contract until June 2025, made this decision “for reasons that are personal to him”, the FFF specified.

Despite the defection of a good number of players likely to join this team and the refusal of their clubs to release them, the Games not being part of the FIFA calendar, Henry had a great campaign by qualifying for the final of the Olympic Games, a first for France since the gold medal won in 1984.

The FFF must find a replacement before the beginning of September

“I would like to thank the FFF and President Philippe Diallo, who offered me this incredible opportunity, declared Thierry Henry in the FFF press release. Winning the silver medal at the Olympic Games for my country will remain one of the proudest moments of my life. I am incredibly grateful to the federation, the players, the staff and the supporters who allowed me to live a magical experience”.

Philippe Diallo for his part “thanked Thierry Henry for all the work he has accomplished at the head of the Espoirs and Olympics".

"We obviously regret this decision because Thierry Henry was able to achieve the goals that had been set for him by winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, 40 years after the Olympic medal in Los Angeles. Having followed him throughout this campaign, I was able to discover his great professionalism, his rigor and his love of the blue jersey”, declared Philippe Diallo.

The FFF will now have to quickly find a replacement for Henry at the head of the Espoirs, who must play two qualifying matches for Euro 2025 against Slovenia and Bosnia in September.