Thierry Henry names his favourites for World Cup 2026 - and it's not England

Thierry Henry holding a Sky Sports microphone
Thierry Henry (Image credit: Getty Images)

Thierry Henry has named his favourites and his dark horses for the World Cup.

The France legend was a member of the 1998 side that secured Les Bleus' first trophy, and is a part of Fox's coverage of the tournament in the United States this summer alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexei Lalas.

Now, speaking as part of a campaign with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Kaka for Clash of Clans, Henry gave his opinion on the action so far…

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“People are waiting for England to finally go over the line – again, because you know when they won it,” Henry smiled.

“But I'm going to have to stick with France, being French: as you can imagine. And it would be great for one of the hosts, especially the US to have a bit of a run.”

France's Thierry Henry celebrates scoring a goal during the 1998 soccer World Cup match against Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Jerome Prevost/TempSport/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Henry lifted the World Cup with France (Image credit: Getty Images)

With plenty of shocks so far, the iconic forward was asked about surprise packages, too – and noted that although his two dark horses may have seemed leftfield choices a while ago, they're looking like contenders now.

“It's kind of weird: I called them dark horses a long time ago but they don't look like surprises anymore… Senegal and Norway,” he said.

“Norway qualified finishing in front of Italy, beating them pretty easily. We know the quality they have in the squad. Senegal… they're in our group, by the way!”

As part of the Clash of Clans campaign, Henry also answered questions about the game, noting that he wouldn't pick either of his CBS punditry colleagues Micah Richards or Jamie Carragher for his clan – “I'd rather be alone” – while choosing a surprise former team-mate to “protect his village” in the game.

“Gilberto Silva,” the Frenchman replied. “He was a joke: whenever we were [attacking], doing what were doing, you saw him, also with Brazil… ‘I'm staying!’”

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With Global Chat making its triumphant return, Henry, Kaka, and Schweinsteiger are bringing their punditry expertise to the battlefield to show that victory has never been more in the players' hands – and timed perfectly with the race for the World Cup, Clash of Clans is also kicking off a special football-themed in-game event, giving players the chance to compete in an exclusive Clan War League.

“Competition is a mindset,” Henry says now. Whether it’s on the pitch or on your phone, that desire to win never leaves you. Clash of Clans is a different kind of challenge - but the intensity is the same. Communication is a huge part of strategy, both on the pitch and in the battlefield, and having a space to share winning tactics like Global Chat makes a real difference.”

Be sure to follow Clash of Clans on social media (YouTube / Instagram / X / TikTok) for the latest updates.

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.

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