Amandine Henry is just another star among a constellation of pure talent that France have at their disposal. Despite her screamer against Mexico, Henry is still overshadowed by the likes of Louisa Necib and Elodie Thomis. This is perhaps because of the fact that Henry plays a deeper midfield role in comparison to her compatriots. Arguably, Amandine Henry is France’s hidden gem and should not be overlooked in their pursuit to lift the Women’s World Cup.
The first striking factor of Henry is her superb passing range. She is able to switch the play consistently, allowing France to be dynamic and fluid in their attacks, which lets France’s wingers peel off very wide, stretching the opposition’s defence and creating gaps for Eugénie Le Sommer and Marie-Laure Delie to infiltrate. Henry’s accuracy and power in her passing ensure the ball is pinpoint in finding her teammates, especially on the somewhat unpredictable astroturf surface at this World Cup. It’s a tricky surface that makes the ball skid, particularly when bouncing, out of reach of the helpless player. This is why a passer of Henry’s calibre is vital to France.
Importantly, Henry works as hard as any central midfielder should. But, the key difference here is Henry is able to dispossess an opponent, look up, then give a good ball to start a counter attack. Or, when appropriate, Henry can hold up play and exchange a couple of one-two passes with team-mates. This ability to dictate and control the game allows France rest when they need it, but also aims to punish any loss of possession from the opponent via swift counter attacks. In France’s next game against Germany, this kind of control in midfield will be vital, as for the first time in France’s tournament they will face a side equally studded in quality. This is where one mistake could define the game. So, if Philippe Bergeroo wants to see his team progress, he should definitely keep his faith in Henry.
On paper, the statistics highlight one goal and no assists during the tournament, suggesting that Henry isn’t as influential as first discussed. But, Henry is often the vital link in the chain that leads to the goal or assist. Most goals have multiple passes that lead to the goal, and if this was measured as a statistic, Henry would be at the top. Henry could be compared to Luka Modric in this vain, as Modric is often the middle man contributing to the goal. It’s players like these that win games as if the striker isn’t receiving any service how can that striker score? Sure, Le Sommer is definitely capable of fashioning out chances for herself, but without consistent quality support from her team-mates, she will struggle to consistently provide the goals for France.
In short, Henry is très importante for France due to her fantastic passing, ability to control the midfield and her quality supply to the strikers. Who knows, Henry could well just repeat that goal against Mexico to fire France into the semi-finals. Bergeroo has rightfully kept Henry in his team and so long as he continues to show this faith, France could just go all the way.
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