Thierry Henry: The Future of France's National Team?

Thierry Henry has already felt the weight of a nation on his shoulders from the technical area. He did it in Paris at the 2024 Olympic Games, steering the host country all the way to a final against Spain.

It ended in extra-time heartbreak, silver instead of gold for Michael Olise and the rest of a vibrant France side, but it also served as a reminder: Henry is no mere figurehead. He can build a team, shape a mood, carry expectation.

For now, though, the 48-year-old is back in the studio, not on the touchline. After short, testing spells in charge of Monaco and MLS side Montreal Impact, and a stint alongside Roberto Martinez with Belgium, Henry has stepped away from day-to-day coaching. He is keeping his options open, in no hurry to jump at the next job. The right offer, though, would always make him listen.

And there is one role that will always sit in the background of any conversation about his future: France.

Zidane steps in, Deschamps steps away

Didier Deschamps is closing the book on a monumental 14-year reign. A World Cup winner as a player in 1998, he repeated the feat as a coach in 2018, added UEFA Nations League success, and turned France into a machine that rarely fails to reach the business end of tournaments. Semi-finals. Finals. Another World Cup final in 2022. A constant presence when the trophies are handed out.

Now comes Zinedine Zidane. Ballon d’Or winner. Serial Champions League conqueror with Real Madrid. A man stepping into his first job outside the Bernabeu, inheriting a squad dripping with talent: Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and a queue of others behind them.

With Deschamps gone and Zidane in, the class of ’98 continues to shape the national team from the bench as well as the pitch. The obvious question follows: who keeps that lineage alive when Zidane’s time eventually ends?

“Why not Henry?”

Jeremie Aliadiere, another member of that famous Arsenal “Invincibles” group, sees a clear candidate. Speaking to GOAL in association with ToonieBet, he did not hesitate when asked whether Henry could one day take the France job.

“Why not? I'm sure Thierry will be delighted to get the job,” he said.

Aliadiere pointed straight back to Paris 2024 as proof of Henry’s fit with the national team.

“We've seen how patriotic he is and how much he loves France. We saw him during the Olympic Games in 2024 as well. He's had a great tournament there. I'm sure that'll be in the back of his mind and he will love to get the opportunity at some point.”

The respect for Zidane, though, is absolute.

“But I think Zidane in France is something different and now we've touched the gods. Zidane will always be Zidane. So I wish and I really hope that he succeeds and everything goes well.

“Because as much as Deschamps didn't win this World Cup, he's still all the time going to semis, to finals, won in 2018. So you just think it's still going to be a challenge for Zidane to get over the line.

“Because the next step now really for Zidane, he has to win something. He can't just come and then do a semi-final or a quarter-finals. And we know how hard it is to win it. Only one team can. And we know with England as well. They've been in tournaments lately where they are so close but not quite there. So you just start losing patience. Hopefully Zidane can do it.”

The bar has been set high. Deschamps did that. Zidane cannot simply match it; the expectation is that he surpasses it.

Golden generation, ready-made platform

Will France stay at the top of the tree? Aliadiere has no doubt.

“Yeah, 100%. I think so,” he insisted when asked if Les Bleus will remain contenders at European Championships and World Cups with this current crop.

“I think as much as people might say that Didier Deschamps has only one World Cup, that is obviously more than a lot of anyone else. But you just think what he's done in terms of leading the team with such a great squad and great talent.

“Zidane's going to come in and he hasn't got a lot to do really. Everything's already set for him to succeed.”

The depth is frightening. Established stars on the pitch now, and another wave behind them.

“So yeah, I think you're right. I think the force, the age, the players that we're missing as well that will be back in the team.

“You think a player like [Rayan] Cherki who couldn't get much minutes in there, he'll be in for two years, four years. You think about [Hugo] Ekitike who was injured before it. It's like the names that you've got and the talent you've got, I think Zidane now has just got to put his little magic on it and then make it work.”

Zidane steps into a job where failure is measured not by early exits, but by anything less than lifting a trophy. Behind him, Henry watches, commentates, waits.

At some point, France will look again to the touchline and decide who writes the next chapter after Zidane. If the class of ’98 is to stay in charge of the story, Henry’s name will not be far from the top of that list.