Thierry Henry was delighted to guarantee France a first Olympic medal in the men's football since 1984 after their comeback victory over 10-man Egypt.
Les Bleus were minutes away from a semi-final exit against the Pharaohs until Jean-Philippe Mateta's 83rd minute equaliser.
Mateta would grab his fourth of the tournament in the ninth minute of extra-time, with former Crystal Palace teammate Michael Olise confirming the 3-1 win soon after.
Henry had been preparing for this event since taking over in August 2023 and felt the weight of responsibility, having seen his nation perform brilliantly in other events as the hosts.
“I’m living a dream. I don’t want to wake up," Henry said.
"I’ll be honest with you, what’s nice is for Team France because when you see everyone winning medals here and there, you think it’s up to us not to let the guys down.”
Henry endured a torrid time in charge of Monaco over five years ago, winning five of his 20 games in charge (D4, L11), but has since rebuilt his career.
Firstly, in the MLS with Montreal Impact, leading Montreal to their first playoff berth in four seasons, before returning for a second stint with the Belgium national side as an assistant manager.
This tournament has seen Henry possibly stake a claim for the France job further down the line, with Didier Deschamps’ contract expiring after the 2026 World Cup.
However, Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, did not want to entertain the idea just yet.
Diallo told RMC: “Let’s not rush things. Thierry Henry, when I appointed him to the position, there were some who had doubts given what he had done previously. I had confidence in him and he is proving it.”
France will play Spain at the Parc des Princes on Friday in the showpiece final.
St. Lucia’s Alfred adds 200m silver to 100m gold; USA’s Thomas claims first Olympic title
St. Lucia’s Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred continued her brilliant showing at the Paris Games with silver in the final of the Women’s 200m at the Stade de France on Monday.
The 23-year-old recovered from a less than ideal start with a strong finish to cross the line second in 22.08.
Gold went to American Gabby Thomas who ran 21.82 while another American, Brittany Brown, took bronze in 22.20.
Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita ran 22.22 and 22.23, respectively for fourth and fifth while Nigeria’s Favour Ofili ran 22.24 in sixth.
American McKenzie Long (22.42) and Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai (22.70) rounded out the top eight.
Dynamo Kyiv 1-1 Rangers: Dessers leaves it late to salvage first-leg draw
Cyriel Dessers salvaged a last-gasp draw for Rangers in a 1-1 draw with Dynamo Kyiv in their Champions League third-round qualifier first leg on Tuesday.
It looked like Andriy Yarmolenko's strike would give the Ukrainian side the advantage heading into the second leg next week, but the visitors dug deep to level the score.
Rangers made a decent start to the game but were punished for Ridvan Yilmaz's loose pass, as Vladyslav Vanat capitalised by flashing it into the box for Yarmolenko to turn home.
The visitors pushed for an equaliser, with Ross McCausland hitting the post before Heorhiy Bushchan made a fine save to keep out Dessers' pacey shot.
And it was the Nigerian that eventually found the breakthrough for Rangers as he darted in to poke Vaclav Cerny's cross past Bushchan with the last kick of the game in the 94th minute.
Data Debrief: Dessers saves the day
For so long, it looked like Rangers would be heading back to Hampden Park next Tuesday with a deficit to overturn, but Dessers' threat finally paid off.
Philippe Clement's side have started the season with back-to-back draws though, having played a 0-0 stalemate with Hearts in the Scottish Premiership at the weekend, and he will be keen to get their first win soon.
Although Dynamo could not hold out for the win, they are now unbeaten in their last 12 home matches in all competitions, winning 10 and drawing two.
Pinnock jumps 8.36m to take silver in Men’s long jump; Tentoglu defends Olympic title with 8.48m
In a repeat of the final at the World Championships last year in Budapest, Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock was narrowly beaten by Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglu in the final of the Men’s long jump at the Paris Olympic Games at the Stade de France on Tuesday.
Jamaica’s Pinnock had a consistent series with a best jump of 8.36m but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Greek from adding to his extensive list of global gold medals.
Tentoglu’s winning jump of 8.48m also came in the second round.
Italian 19-year-old Mattia Furlani produced 8.34m to take Italy’s first medal in the event in 40 years.
The other Jamaican in the final, Carey McLeod, didn’t have his best day with 7.82m to finish 12th.
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