Les Bleuets, led by the youngest of the group Warren Zaire-Emery, appointed captain at just 17 years old, suffered in the first minutes of the match, the Danes having almost opened the score many times – goal disallowed (7th), then double parade of the French goalkeeper Guillaume Restes on a Danish corner (8th).

But Henry's men quickly pulled themselves together, quickly projecting forward to recover the ball and creating plenty of chances.

And it paid off. In the 23rd, Zaire-Emery recovered the ball on the right side and led the French offensive leading to a curled strike from the right of Johan Lepenant, out of the box, which landed in the right window.

A quarter of an hour later (38th), it was another Lyonnais, Rayan Cherki, who managed to deceive the Danish goalkeeper by making a one-two on the edge of the box with Kalimuendo, then hitting with his right foot at ground level.

Entering at the beginning of the second half to replace Barcola, it was Elye Wahi who scored the third goal of the match (75th), with a superb half-volley under the bar of Jungdal, before offering himself a double at the very end of the match (90th) on a French counterattack.

France Espoirs de football player Johann Lepenant (right) celebrates the goal scored against Denmark during the France's 4-1 friendly win at the Marcel-Picot stadium in Tomblaine, France, September 7, 2023. © Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP

Meanwhile, the Danes had managed to reduce the gap with a strike from the left of Christian Rasmussen (84th).

- A test match –

For his first game as coach of Les Bleuets, Thierry Henry, whose name the public chanted several times, tried different combinations, exploiting the nine changes that were allowed to give a chance to as many players as possible.

The 46-year-old tactician spent almost the entire match standing in his technical area, observing his players' behaviour, giving them advice on the placement they should adopt and applauding their good deeds.

The legend of French football, world champion (1998) and European champion (2000) with Les Bleus, knew that his first official match under his new duties would be closely scrutinized.

His conversion to the position of coach was until then very mixed, the Monegasque adventure having turned into a fiasco in 2018, and his other coaching experiences, in Montreal and then in the staff of the Belgian selection, having not been much more successful either.

Chosen to succeed Sylvain Ripoll, mainly thanks to his profile as an ex-player with a prestigious record and his important popular and media aura, Henry had indicated that he had "questioned" himself after his debut deemed failed on the benches.

Espoirs football France team coach Thierry Henry during the friendly match against Denmark won by France 4-1 at the Marcel-Picot stadium in Tomblaine (France) on September 7, 2023. © Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP

"It takes time for coaches to put things in place (...) We will do everything to be efficient, "he said at his first press conference as coach of the Blueberries.

On his game project, Henry had not let filter much information, content with the words "possession, pressing" during his presentation, before adding Wednesday his desire to "defend by moving forward".

In front of about 15,000 spectators, his men seem to have met his expectations during this first meeting.

The coach had explained that he considered this friendly match as a test match "to find a coherent team", before the start of the qualifying campaign for Euro-2025, which begins Monday (18:00) in Slovenia for the Blueberries.

© 2023 AFP