Warren Zaire-Emery starts as Captain, France U19 win 4-1

On Thursday, Sept. 7, the France Espoirs squad secured a convincing 4-1 victory over Denmark in a friendly match, marking Thierry Henry's inaugural appearance as head coach and the debut of 17-year-old PSG midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery as the captain of the U19 team.

With this, WZE became the youngest captain in the team's history for the past three decades. This was surely a bold decision by Henry, the former Arsenal player and French world champion. However, the decision proved to be the right one, as the supremely young and talented Parisian wunderkind showcased his talents on the pitch.

Despite not directly contributing to any of the four goals scored by France, Zaire Emery proved his worth by excelling in midfield through effective pressing and recovering the ball in the opponent's territory.

Thierry Henry, in justifying his selection of Zaire Emery as captain, emphasized that he wanted to assess the young player's readiness for the task. Zaire Emery's positive responses in both the locker room and on the field must have convinced Henry that the decision was well-founded.

The young WZE currently a member of the first team of PSG after already appearing in many games last season, admitted that Henry had approached him early in the camp to let him know about this choice, hoping it would encourage Zaire Emery to become more open and ready about it.

The question now remains whether Thierry Henry intends to maintain Zaire Emery as captain in the long term, which is definitely an intriguing prospect for the rising star, or if the coach would just need to give up on that idea with a potential call-up to the senior France international time coming soon.

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