Thiery Henry Leaves Out Mbappe, Names Two ‘Nigerian’ Players In His Olympics Squad

Former Arsenal player, Thiery Henry who is currently the head coach of France’s under-21 team, has dropped his push to include Kylian Mbappe in his 2024 Olympics squad.

Thiery Henry wanted to name Kylian Mbappe as one of the permitted over-age players in his 2024 Olympics squad and the player in question was looking forward to it.

However, before Mbappe officially became a Real Madrid player, the Spanish giants have written to their players to inform them that no player is permitted to represent his country in both the 2024 European Championship in Germany and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

This means that a player must choose to represent his country in either the Euro 2024 or the Olympics this summer to give them room to rest for the forthcoming 2024-2025 season.

Hence, Mbappe who is now a Real Madrid player has to settle for the Euro 2024 and sacrificed his dream of playing at the Olympics.

Meanwhile, Thiery Henry named two players of Nigerian descent, Michael Olise and Lesley Ugochukwu in his 25-man squad for the men’s football event of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

This is seen as a big compensation for Crystal Palace winger, Olise who was surprisingly left out of France’s Euro 2024 squad despite his prolific form at the Premier League club.

Chelsea midfielder, Ugochukwu who has played for France youth teams will have a chance to prove his worth in Henry’s Olympics team this summer.

France who are the hosts of the 2024 Olympics will start their campaign in Group A which features the United States, Guinea and New Zealand.

Note that the football tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics will be held from 24 July to 10 August 2024.

Below is Thiery Henry’s 2024 Olympics provisional squad:

Goalkeepers:
Lucas Chevalier, Obed Nkambadio, Guillaume Restes, Robin Risser

Defenders:
Bafodé Diakité, Mazime Esteve, Bradley Locko, Castello Lukeba, Kiliann Sildillia, Adrien Truffert, Leny Yoro

Midfielders:
Maghnes Akliouche, Joris Chotard, Desiré Doué, Manu Koné, Enzo Millot, Khephran Thuram, Lesley Ugochukwu, Warren Zaïre-Emery

Attackers:
Bradley Barcola, Arnaud Kalimuendo, Alexandre Lacazette, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Michael Olise, Mathys Tel