“We are aiming for gold and nothing but gold,” assures the French football team at the start of the Olympic tournament

The Olympic Games are coming early for the French Olympic football team as the opening ceremony is on Friday. Thierry Henry’s players face the United States on Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. at the Stade de Marseille.

A French team without a major star. Despite the efforts of the French Football Federation, the announced stars are absent from the base camp in Aix-en-Provence. There is no Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud or Raphaël Varane to hear the song of the cicadas and the fury on Wednesday July 24 of the Orange Vélodrome which will have to be called Stade de Marseille for the occasion.

For this Olympic tournament, 15 players under 23 are selected, to which can be added three players over 23. Some foreign clubs but also French ones did not play the game, like Lille or Paris Saint-Germain. The Blues are therefore currently with a young group and without a headliner.

Stars are absent on the pitch, but one celebrity is present on the bench: Thierry Henry. For him, it is up to his group to seduce the general public. “It’s true that there are quite a few people who have spoken about names and people, but I have always spoken about groups.”says Thierry Henry.

“I tell them quite often that it’s up to us to bring people back to us, quite simply, no matter the name. The name is there: it’s that of the French team.”

Thierry Henry, coach of the French men’s football team

Castello Lukeba, Maghnes Akliouche, Désiré Doué, Michael Olise… These names may not mean anything to you, but they are the stars of tomorrow. These players will wear the jersey of the French A team in the short or medium term. Michael Olise, for example, has just been transferred to Bayern Munich for 60 million euros. Désiré Doué, from Rennes, is courted by PSG.

An ambitious young generation hoping to win the Olympic tournament as France did forty years ago. “We aim for gold and nothing but goldexplains midfielder Manu Koné. We are at home. We are quite ambitious and we are not afraid, with the quality we have in the team. It is good to talk, but we have to do it on the pitch.”

Against the United States, the Blues have the opportunity to light the Olympic spark, which could take them to Paris in two weeks.