Thierry Henry is a French former professional footballer, who held the record for the most goals scored for the France national team until being surpassed by Olivier Giroud in 2022.[1] During his international career he played 123 games for France in which he scored 51 goals.[2] Henry made his international debut against South Africa in a 2–1 victory in October 1997.[3] His first international goal came in the 1998 FIFA World Cup against South Africa.[3] He surpassed the previous all-time French goal-scoring record, held by Michel Platini, in October 2007 when he scored twice against Lithuania, taking his tally to 43.[4] Henry retired from international football in July 2010 after a 13-year career, making his final appearance as a substitute, against South Africa, in France's "disastrous" (lowest ever Finals placement) 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign. Henry scored his 51st and final goal for France against Austria the preceding October.[3]

Henry never scored an international hat-trick, although he did score twice in a match on seven occasions.[2] He scored more times against Malta than any other team, with four goals, scored in back-to-back qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2004.[2] More than half of Henry's goals came in home matches, 31 of his 51 goals being scored in France, including 20 at the Stade de France.[2]

16 of Henry's goals came in friendlies.[2] A tally of four goals in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup made Henry the tournament's top scorer and led to his being voted the "tournament's most outstanding player".[5] He scored twelve goals in UEFA European Championship qualifiers, including six in the qualification phase of UEFA Euro 2004, where he finished as third-equal top scorer, behind Slovenia's Ermin Šiljak and Spain's Raúl.[6]

List of international goals

Scores and results list France's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Henry goal.[2][7]
List of international goals scored by Thierry Henry
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 12 June 1998 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France 4  South Africa 3–0 3–0 1998 FIFA World Cup [8]
2 18 June 1998 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 5  Saudi Arabia 1–0 4–0 1998 FIFA World Cup [9]
3 3–0
4 29 March 2000 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland 12  Scotland 1–0 2–0 Friendly [10]
5 6 June 2000 Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, Morocco 16  Morocco 1–0 5–1 Friendly [11]
6 11 June 2000 Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium 17  Denmark 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2000 [12]
7 16 June 2000 Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium 18  Czech Republic 1–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2000 [13]
8 28 June 2000 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 20  Portugal 1–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2000 [14]
9 24 March 2001 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 27  Japan 2–0 5–0 Friendly [15]
10 25 April 2001 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 29  Portugal 3–0 4–0 Friendly [16]
11 6 October 2001 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 32  Algeria 3–0 4–1 Friendly [17]
12 27 March 2002 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 34  Scotland 3–0 5–0 Friendly [18]
13 16 October 2002 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta 41  Malta 1–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualification [19]
14 2–0
15 29 March 2003 Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens, France 44  Malta 2–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualification [20]
16 3–0
17 30 April 2003 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 46  Egypt 1–0 5–0 Friendly [21]
18 2–0
19 18 June 2003 Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France 47  Colombia 1–0 1–0 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup [22]
20 22 June 2003 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 49  New Zealand 2–0 5–0 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup [23]
21 26 June 2003 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 50  Turkey 1–0 3–2 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup [24]
22 29 June 2003 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 51  Cameroon 1–0 1–0 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup [25]
23 6 September 2003 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 53  Cyprus 4–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualification [26]
24 11 October 2003 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 55  Israel 1–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualification [27]
25 15 November 2003 Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany 56  Germany 1–0 3–0 Friendly [28]
26 21 June 2004 Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal 62   Switzerland 2–1 3–1 UEFA Euro 2004 [29]
27 3–1
28 13 October 2004 GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus 68  Cyprus 2–0 2–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification [30]
29 17 August 2005 Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France 71  Ivory Coast 3–0 3–0 Friendly [31]
30 7 September 2005 Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland 73  Republic of Ireland 1–0 1–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification [32]
31 9 November 2005 Stade d'Honneur de Dillon, Fort-de-France, France 74  Costa Rica 3–2 3–2 Friendly [33]
32 31 May 2006 Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens, France 77  Denmark 1–0 2–0 Friendly [34]
33 7 June 2006 Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France 78  China 3–1 3–1 Friendly [35]
34 18 June 2006 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany 80  South Korea 1–0 1–1 2006 FIFA World Cup [36]
35 23 June 2006 Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, Germany 81  Togo 2–0 2–0 2006 FIFA World Cup [37]
36 1 July 2006 Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany 83  Brazil 1–0 1–0 2006 FIFA World Cup [38]
37 6 September 2006 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 88  Italy 2–0 3–1 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification [39]
38 11 October 2006 Stade Auguste Bonal, Montbéliard, France 90  Faroe Islands 2–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification [40]
39 15 November 2006 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 91  Greece 1–0 1–0 Friendly [41]
40 22 August 2007 Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava, Slovakia 93  Slovakia 1–0 1–0 Friendly [42]
41 13 October 2007 Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands 95  Faroe Islands 2–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification [43]
42 17 October 2007 Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France 96  Lithuania 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification [4]
43 2–0
44 21 November 2007 Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, Kyiv, Ukraine 97  Ukraine 1–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification [44]
45 13 June 2008 Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland 101  Netherlands 1–2 1–4 UEFA Euro 2008 [45]
46 10 September 2008 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 105  Serbia 1–0 2–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification [46]
47 14 October 2008 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 107  Tunisia 1–1 3–1 Friendly [47]
48 2–1
49 5 September 2009 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 112  Romania 1–0 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification [48]
50 9 September 2009 Stadion FK Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia 113  Serbia 1–1 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification [49]
51 14 October 2009 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 115  Austria 2–0 3–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification [50]

Statistics

Source:[2]
Goals by year
Year Apps Goals
1997 1 0
1998 10 3
1999 0 0
2000 14 5
2001 7 3
2002 10 3
2003 14 11
2004 13 3
2005 6 3
2006 16 8
2007 6 5
2008 11 4
2009 9 3
2010 6 0
Total 123 51
Goals by competition
Competition Goals
UEFA European Championship qualification 12
Friendlies[a] 17
UEFA European Championship tournaments 6
FIFA World Cup qualification 6
FIFA World Cup tournaments 6
FIFA Confederations Cup 4
Total 51
Goals by opponent
Opponent Goals
 Malta 4
 Cyprus 2
 Denmark 2
 Egypt 2
 Faroe Islands 2
 Lithuania 2
 Portugal 2
 Saudi Arabia 2
 Scotland 2
 Serbia 2
  Switzerland 2
 Tunisia 2
 Algeria 1
 Austria 1
 Brazil 1
 Cameroon 1
 China 1
 Colombia 1
 Costa Rica 1
 Czech Republic 1
 Greece 1
 Italy 1
 Ivory Coast 1
 Japan 1
 Morocco 1
 Netherlands 1
 New Zealand 1
 Republic of Ireland 1
 Romania 1
 Slovakia 1
 South Africa 1
 South Korea 1
 Togo 1
 Turkey 1
 Ukraine 1
Total 51

See also

Notes

  1. Henry's 2000 statistics includes one appearance from the match against FIFA XI on 16 August 2000 which FIFA and the French Football Federation count as an official friendly match.[51]

References

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  2. Mamrud, Roberto (29 February 2012). "Thierry Henry – Century of international appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  3. "Thierry Henry calls end to France career". BBC Sport. 15 July 2010.
  4. Hooper, Simon (18 October 2007). "Henry eclipses Platini's goal mark". CNN.
  5. "FIFA Confederations Cup 2003 France". FIFA. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  6. "UEFA Euro 2004 statistics". UEFA. Archived from the original on 2 December 2011.
  7. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Thierry Henry". National Football Teams.
  8. Leach, Conrad (13 June 1998). "World Cup: House whine with a bite". The Independent. London.
  9. Moore, Glenn (18 June 1998). "Football: Zidane's red card spoils French party". The Independent. London.
  10. "France spoil Scottish party". BBC News. 29 March 2000.
  11. "France cruise into Euro 2000". BBC Sport. 6 June 2000.
  12. "Classy France cut down Denmark in opener". UEFA. 6 October 2003.
  13. "France through after edging Czech thriller". UEFA. 6 October 2003.
  14. "Zidane sends France through". BBC Sport. 28 June 2000.
  15. "French master class". BBC Sport. 24 March 2001.
  16. "French hit top form". BBC Sport. 25 April 2001.
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  18. Fifield, Dominic (28 March 2002). "France give Vogts a torrid baptism". The Guardian. London.
  19. "Four-star France impress again". UEFA. 16 October 2002.
  20. "France continue perfect progress". UEFA. 29 March 2003.
  21. Gee, Jason (1 May 2003). "Henry at the double to fire France". The Guardian. London.
  22. "France 1–0 Colombia". Eurosport.
  23. "France 5–0 New Zealand". Eurosport.
  24. "France 3–2 Turkey". BBC Sport. 26 June 2003.
  25. "France overcome Cameroon". BBC Sport. 29 June 2003.
  26. "France crush spirited Cypriots". UEFA. 6 September 2003.
  27. "French fireworks ensure perfect finish". UEFA. 11 October 2003.
  28. "France turn on the style". UEFA. 15 November 2003.
  29. "Switzerland 1–3 France". BBC Sport. 21 June 2004.
  30. "Henry helps France to win". UEFA. 13 October 2004. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018.
  31. "Zidane goal marks French comeback". CNN. 17 August 2005.
  32. "Republic of Ireland 0–1 France". BBC Sport. 7 September 2005.
  33. "Stars shine on Domenech". BBC Sport. 10 November 2005.
  34. "Henry on target as France impress". CNN. 31 May 2006.
  35. Châtelet, Christian (8 June 2006). "Bitter victory for France". UEFA. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018.
  36. "France 1–1 South Korea". BBC Sport. 18 June 2006.
  37. "Togo 0–2 France". BBC Sport. 23 June 2006.
  38. "Brazil 0–1 France". BBC Sport. 1 July 2006.
  39. Fletcher, Paul (6 September 2006). "France 3–1 Italy". BBC Sport.
  40. "Strike quartet get France back on track". UEFA. 11 October 2006.
  41. Châtelet, Christian (15 November 2006). "Henry turns tables on Greece". UEFA.
  42. "Henry catches Slovakia napping". UEFA. 22 August 2007.
  43. "Henry celebrates in France romp". UEFA. 14 October 2007.
  44. "Shevchenko denies France victory". UEFA. 22 November 2007.
  45. Winter, Henry (14 June 2008). "Euro 2008: Brilliant Holland reach the last eight as France get a case of the Bleus". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  46. "Henry, Anelka spark French revival". FIFA. Agence France-Presse. 10 September 2008. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  47. "Captain Henry leads defeat of Tunisia". UEFA. 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018.
  48. "Raymond Domenech denies Therry [sic] Henry rift". The Daily Telegraph. London. 7 September 2009.
  49. "Serbia 1–1 France". FIFA. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016.
  50. "France 3–1 Austria". FIFA. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  51. Pla Diaz, Emilio (23 July 2006). "Zinedine Zidane – Century of international appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.