Henry led France to the final at the Olympics (Image: Getty)
Thierry Henry revealed his class as he congratulated a Spanish player during a live television interview following France's defeat to La Roja in the Olympic gold medal match.
Spain's victory means they have won Euro 2024 and Olympic gold in less than a month in male competitions. However Henry, who has been managing his country throughout the tournament, could only commend the Spanish on their monumental achievement following the game.
Despite having home advantage, Les Bleus had to settle for silver as they fell to a 5-3 defeat at the Parc des Princes. After the match Rayo Vallecano forward Sergio Camello was being interviewed live on air, only for a crestfallen Henry to tap him on the shoulder and offer the player a hug in acknowledgement of his team's victory.
The Olympic defeat was the third time in a matter of weeks that the French have seen their dream of winning a major tournament dashed by the Spanish after La Roja beat Didier Deschamps' side 2-1 in the Euro 2024 semi-final. Spain also beat France in the under-19s European Championship final last month
In a thrilling encounter in Paris, France took an early lead through Enzo Millot with a packed home crowd roaring them on to seal Olympic gold. However Spain replied with a three goal blitz in just 10 minutes thanks to Barcelona star Fermin Lopez and Villareal's Alex Baena.
Henry's side sprung into life in the second half to carry out a late fightback after Maghnes Akliouche, and a penalty from Jean-Phillipe Mateta, took the game to extra time. However the home side could not hold on as Camello bagged two more goals to seal the victory.
Henry and his players salute their home crowd after the defeat (Image: Getty)
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Before Henry's brief interjection to congratulate him, two-goal hero Camello gave an emotional interview after the game in which he thanked his team-mates and told a story of how he believed he was going to score in the game. Henry, who is currently the coach of the French Under-21 side took the reins for the Olympic Games following managerial stints with the Belgium national team, Monaco, and Canadian outfit Montreal Impact.
Following the game, the ex-Barcelona striker admitted his side switched off in the first half which allowed Spain to fly into a 3-1 lead. Nevertheless, the Arsenal legend expressed his pride at leading France to the final.
“There were a few minutes during the first half in which we disappeared and we paid a high price for that," he said. “Then we were able to recover and get back in the game. It wasn’t easy to build this team up, but I’m proud of the work we did.”
