France determined to defeat Henry’s Belgium

France will go into their World Cup semifinal against neighbours Belgium with a “hunger to win” and a desire to show their 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry that he picked the wrong side, forward Olivier Giroud said yesterday.

Retired French striker Henry is now a member of the Belgian coaching staff. The two sides will meet on Tuesday to decide who plays in 15 July’s World Cup final.

“It is bizarre to have Thierry against us in this match,” Giroud told reporters. “I would be very proud to show Thierry that he chose the wrong camp.”

Both teams have earned their billing as pre-tournament favourites, with France ousting Uruguay in the last eight and Belgium stunning five-time champions Brazil to book their own semifinal spot.

“I would have preferred to have Henry on our side, to give me and the other French forwards advice, but I am not too jealous,” the 31-year-old Giroud said.

The forward has been criticised by Henry in the past, but he said there were no hard feelings - just his hunger to win.

“It has been a few years since he said what he said about me. My job is to be good on the pitch, to represent France as well as possible. It is also a particular match for him.

“I really want to communicate (to France teammates) my hunger to win.”

The game, as expected, has monopolised the front pages in both countries, complete with references to their long comic book traditions.

Tuesday, July 10