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.

Didier Deschamps said France will take it day by day when it comes to Kylian Mbappe's recovery, but confirmed the forward will require surgery.

Mbappe broke his nose late on during France's win over Austria at Euro 2024 on Monday.

The 25-year-old, who will join Real Madrid officially in July, is reportedly out of Friday's match against the Netherlands, and France have not placed a timescale on his return, which may mean he misses the rest of the group stage altogether.

In an interview published to France's official Twitter account on Tuesday, Deschamps said: "There will still be exams tomorrow to make sure we see how things evolve.

"The medical staff did what was necessary to reduce it as much as possible. Even if it will not be immediately, he will have to undergo surgery.

"Already this morning he was a little better, so we will see that and monitor it closely every day."

French Football Federation (FFF) president Philippe Diallo was equally as cautious.

"The first responses were quite positive as there is no surgery planned for the moment," he told reporters.

"Now it is too soon to know if he will be able to play for the remainder of the tournament, or to provide a schedule for his situation.

"Obviously there were some medical examinations performed on site to know more about Kylian's nose and they made some conclusions pretty quickly.

"They tried to reduce the aftermath of his fracture, for him to be able to remain in the tournament.

"As I said, there is no surgery planned for the moment and we are still waiting for things to evolve later in order to know more about the conditions of his participation in the remainder of the tournament."