Thierry Henry eyes gold rush on home turf after taking over as France Olympic coach

Fifty weeks from Wednesday, the men’s finalists in the Olympic Games football tournament will be plotting how to make the difference between gold and silver. All things going to plan, one of those squads will be anticipating a wave of patriotic fervor at the Parc des Princes, venue of the final.

Logic points to France claiming gold. The Games are taking place in Paris, which has a legitimate claim to being the most productive talent hub in the world’s most popular sport, the Olympic version of which prioritises young players – teams can field only three players who fall outside the under-23 category in the men’s tournament – and, come 2024, the host nation is determined to show off the best of itself.

France’s so-called "Bleuets", the junior Bleus, will have full institutional support at France’s own Games. Ligue 1 clubs will be pushed to release players, even if it means absenting them from pre-season practice. Players themselves are committed to make a home Olympic experience their focus next July and early August.

Among them, Kylian Mbappe, captain of France’s senior side, born in greater Paris and earmarked to take one of the three "over-age" berths in the 18-man squad. And to complete this all-star cast, there is Thierry Henry, who during his playing career held the status of France’s greatest ever international goalscorer. He has been appointed manager of France’s Olympic team and the country’s under-21s.

Henry, 46, was chosen unanimously by the French Football Federation’s selection panel for the job on Monday, ahead of candidates with longer experience of coaching in club football. An impressive interview helped, as does his aura, as a genuine great, and a World Cup winner with France in 1998. As anybody who ever