Thierry Henry appointed France U21 coach | OneFootball

France legend Thierry Henry is the new coach of France’s U21 team.

The former striker takes over from Sylvain Ripoll, who left his post after France were eliminated by Ukraine in the quarter-finals of the Euro U21 Championship in July.

Henry is understood to have beaten competition from Julien Stéphan, Jocelyn Gourvennec and Sabri Lamouchi for the role, and has signed a contract with the French Football Federation which runs until 2025.

The 46-year-old will soon get down to work, with qualification for Euro 2025 beginning next month, and 2024 Paris Olympic Games on the horizon.

As a player, Henry won the World Cup and the European Championship with Les Bleus, scoring 51 goals over the course of 123 senior caps for his country. At club level, the Arsenal legend also won league titles in England and Spain, and the Champions League with Barcelona.

Since hanging up his boots, he has held assistant coaching positions with the Belgium national team, as well as head coaching positions with Monaco and CF Montréal.