(sabasports report) France coach Thierry Henry made it clear at the event that he didn’t expect Kylian Mbappe to play at the Olympics. “I’ll be honest with you, I knew it was going to be hard, but it was different,” Henry said. This is not always obvious. The club has the right to say no, which makes things difficult. I carry my phone with me because you don’t know when it’s going to ring.”
Of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Henry said: “He’s a traditional striker, he can play long passes, he can control the ball, he’s a difficult striker, he doesn’t drop back easily, he always looks at the last defender. He is strong, good at heading and scoring goals, which is very important. A striker like that brings a different dimension to your game. As far as I know, he was named Crystal Palace player of the year, which is nice.”