2026 World Cup: Thierry Henry Praises Spain's Stars After France's Defeat

14.07.26 FT World Cup

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FC Barcelona and France legend Thierry Henry was full of praise for the Spanish national team’s performance after they booked their place in the 2026 World Cup final at the expense of Les Bleus.

La Roja secured their ticket to the final with an authoritative 2-0 win over France on Tuesday night in the semi-final held at the Dallas stadium.

Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute, before Pedro Porro sealed the Spanish victory by netting the second goal in the 57th minute.

Thierry Henry: "Spain gave us a footballing lesson"

Speaking as an analyst on FOX Sports, Thierry Henry openly acknowledged La Roja’s superiority, insisting their victory was fully deserved.

"The Spaniards controlled possession and showed exactly why they are reigning European champions. They were clearly the better side," declared the former France top scorer.

He went on to add: "The better team won. When you miss your start to the match, everything gets more complicated. Spain is probably the toughest opponent to concede the opening goal against, because it’s so hard to come back against a team that controls the ball so well."

Henry finally called on Les Bleus to learn from this exit: "France must analyze this defeat, take lessons from it and come back stronger, so that in the future they are able to beat this Spanish team, which now stands as a benchmark."

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Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.

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