On Tuesday, two European powerhouses - France and Belgium - will lock horns in a tantalizing semi-finals clash. At the end of 90 minutes (or perhaps more), one of these two star-studded teams will have the chance to feature in the much anticipated final against high-flying England or an ambitious Croatia side that has been the surprise of the tournament so far.
Naturally, given the talent on display, much of the focus will be on the interesting duels between the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Kevin De Bruyne, and others. However, behind the scenes, there will also be another curious battle of sorts, as Belgium's assistant manager, Thierry Henry will be in a very interesting situation as his current employers take on the national side he pledges allegiance to.
Here is a brief overview of how this "conflict" came to be, starting with how both sides ended up at this juncture.
How France got here
Led by none other than Didier Deschamps, who was the skipper of France's 1998 World Cup-winning squad, Les Bleus have been steadily growing in confidence as the tournament progresses.
France has knocked out a pair of South American giants to get to this stage, but before then, the team earned scrappy wins against Australia (2-1) and Peru (1-0). A dull scoreless stalemate with Denmark - the only scoreless game of this summer's tournament - was the one blemish on their otherwise solid group stage campaign, but it was enough to ensure that Les Bleus finished top of their group.
Then, it was on to the round of 16, where a brace from Kylian Mbappe was enough to dump Lionel Messi and his colleagues out of the competition during a seven-goal thriller. Following their roller-coaster 4-3 win over the two-time World Cup winners, it was on to the quarter-finals, where France was pitting against yet another South American side who had also won the coveted title on two occasions.
Up until that game, Uruguay's mean defense had conceded just one goal this entire tournament. After 90 minutes, it had been breached twice as France earned a comprehensive 2-0 win to set up its spot in the semi-finals.
How Belgium got here
If France appeared a bit ponderous in its group stage campaign, well, Belgium was the exact opposite. The Red Devils racked up eight goals in just its first two games, which saw the team cruise to comfortable wins over Panama (3-0) and Tunisia (5-2). With qualification already sealed, Roberto Martinez opted to heavily rotate his squad for the final matchday against England, where a solitary goal was enough to ensure Belgium finished the group stages as top of its quartet.
However, the Red Devils were nearly the victims of minnows Japan in the round of 16. This tournament has clearly shown that smaller sides are not just here to make up the numbers, and the Asian side, who qualified for the round of 16 thanks to the fair play rule, were just 40 or so minutes from making its first ever appearance in the quarter-finals.
Fortunately for Belgium, the Red Devils were able to quickly wipe out a 2-0 deficit in rather dramatic fashion, with Nacer Chadli becoming the hero of the night with his late, late, game winner to send Japan packing and break the hearts of their hopeful fans.
Brazil was expected to pose a sterner test, but Chelsea's Thibaut Courtios was more than up to the task as he pulled off save after save to ensure that the Red Devils are just a game away from featuring in their first World Cup final.
Thierry Henry's international career
So, now that we have covered how both France and Belgium arrived at this point, why don't we take a quick walk down memory lane. Belgium's assistant manager Thierry Henry certainly is no stranger to featuring in a World Cup, having done so on four occasions starting from 1998 through 2010.
His experiences, however, have been mixed, as France failed to make it to the semi-finals in 2002 after becoming the first victim of the so-called "Champions Curse". In fact, Les Bleus were dumped out in the group stage, but in 2006, were only beaten in the final on penalties by Italy.
Highlights of Henry's international career include:
- 1998 - World Cup winner - France's leading goalscorer with three goals
- 2000 - EURO winner - Was again France's leading goalscorer with three goals. Netted an equalizer against Portugal in the semi-final
- 2003 - Confederations Cup winner - Top goalscorer with four goals, and netted a vital game-winner against Cameroon in the final to help France win the tournament
Divided Loyalties - Not an unprecedented event...
If fans are assuming that Henry's the first manager to face this curious situation, well, they're wrong. Here are a few examples in which the man on the bench had to quell his loyalty to his country in order to help the team he manages at his nation's expense. Did it always pay off? Not always.
2002 - Sven-Göran Eriksson. Born in Sunne, Sweden, the ex-Lazio manager took over the reigns of the English national squad in 2000. During his tenure, he ended up taking on his native country on two occasions, and in both instances, Sweden managed to steal a draw.
At the 2002 World Cup, England had an early lead, only to see the Blågult fight back and hang on to earn a 1-1 draw in the group stages. Flash-forward four years later, and the Three Lions again took the lead twice, but Sweden was not going to go away without a fight.
The result? Another draw, this time a 2-2 result, which made sure Sweden preserved a 38-year long unbeaten record against the Three Lions.
Eriksson, pictured here with David Beckham, was never able to get the better of his home nation as England was pegged back twice by Sweden in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup
2010 - Milovan Rajevac. The second Serbian tactician to lead Ghana through a World Cup, the former defender helped the Black Stars make history as only the third African nation to make it to the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, Ghana was not able to get the better of Uruguay to go one step further to the semi-finals, but notably, Rajevac's tactical nous was enough to make sure that his side beat his country of berth 1-0 in the group stages.
That result helped Ghana to finish second in its group behind Germany.
Milovan Rajevac had to put aside loyalty to Serbia to help steer Ghana past his national side and eventually into the quarter-finals at the 2010 World Cup
2015 - Jorge Sampaoli. The Argentinian-born tactician was the tactical brains behind Chile's first ever national title, and ironically, it was at Argentina's expense. In 2015, Chile, seemingly against all odds defeated Argentina via penalties in the Copa America Final, and although Sampaoli was not on the bench the following year, Chile, buoyed by its success the year prior, again defeated Argentina (yes, by penalties) in the Copa America Centenario.
Unfortunately, as coach of his home country, Sampaoli endured a poor World Cup campaign as Argentina was dumped out of the tournament in the round of 16.
Ironically, Sampaoli was on the bench as Messi and Argentina were beaten in the 2015 Copa America final...but three years later, would be Messi's manager as Argentina failed to make any inroads at this summer's World Cup
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2018 - Carlos Queiroz. The experienced Portuguese tactician has coached his national side on two occasions (1991-1993 and 2008-2010), which certainly has made him very familiar with some of the more experienced players within the squad, including skipper Cristiano Ronaldo who failed to score. As such, he was nearly able to guide Iran to what would have been a surprise win over the 2016 EURO winners. Unfortunately, his squad was not able to win the fixture outright and painfully suffered an early exit after a hard-fought 1-1 draw, but at the very least, Iran was not humiliated like some had predicted.
...but it can be used to Henry's advantage
As we noted in the cases of Erikssen, Rajevac, Sampaoli, and most recently, Carlos Queiroz, the curious case of divided loyalties can actually be used to a manager's advantage. Both Rajevac and Sampaoli enjoyed success at the expense of their home countries due to being very familiar with the players on the opposite side of the pitch, while Queiroz was highly instrumental in Iran avoiding being humiliated by Portugal.
So, with that in mind, one player that Henry will recognize is Kylian Mbappe, who has been compared to the Arsenal legend himself. The 19-year-old has netted three goals so far - just like Henry did in his debut World Cup tournament at the tender age of 21. Mbappe in particular was a real problem for Argentina's defense due to his pace and trickery, and will certainly be one Belgium's back-line will have to contain in order to nullify one option in France's attack.
Will Henry be able to follow in the footsteps of other managers who faced a major dilemma and divided loyalties and inspire Belgium to a win at his nation's expense? This game will be even more interesting as he faces a tactical battle against Deschamps, the man who was captain of France's World Cup winning side. One thing is certain, though: Henry will naturally have to put aside any love for Les Bleus in order to help the Red Devils make it to their first ever World Cup final.
