France v Italy

Jun 15 2008 By Mark Guidi In Zurich

France V Italy Henry: We Have To Put Everything Into This Game To Give Ourselves A Chance Of Staying In The Tournament

THIERRY HENRY doesn't do conspiracy theories. Well, not in public anyway.

The France striker firmly believes you should do things on your own and not expect help from anyone else.

So he will have no complaints if his country are sent crashing out of Euro 2008 when Group C reaches a climax this week.

France must beat Italy on Tuesday to stand any chance of reaching the quarter-finals. But they could still be spent spinning out if Romania win their final game against Holland who have already qualified.

Many people expect the Dutch to ease up, including French boss Raymond Domenech, as a defeat would send two of their biggest rivals out of the tournament.

But Henry isn't worried about a carve-up and insists he's only thinking about what his side do against the Italians.

And he claims France must put everything into the match if they are to avenge their defeat in the 2006 World Cup Final.

Thierry said: "We did not expect to be in this position. All you can ask for is that your destiny is in your own hands but we can't say that now. If Romania beat Holland they will deserve to go through.

"We must only concern ourselves with Italy. That is the only game we have control over. We must beat Italy to make sure we don't leave Euro 2008 with any regrets."

Henry gave his side hope in Friday's 4-1 defeat by Holland when he pulled the score back to 2-1 in the second half.

But the Dutch then raced straight up the park to hit the third through Arjen Robben.

Thierry said: "Losing to Holland was difficult to accept. I missed a good chance at 1-0 but got us back into it at 2-1.

"When I scored I felt the Dutch would be vulnerable. But that didn't last long as they scored again straight away."

Team-mate Franck Ribery was also devastated by the Dutch defeat but believes his side have what it takes to beat world champions Italy.

The Bayern Munich winger said: "To have any chance we need to beat the Italians.

"Surely we can do this. We must have a big performance in our hearts and bodies at this tournament.

"We set out with high hopes and so far we have disappointed and let people down.

"We looked at some things from the draw against Romania and tried to correct them for the Holland game.

"Perhaps we played better but we did not get a good enough result.

"However, we must not forget that the most important game is the next one."

Italy and France have dished up some memorable games and the World Cup Final will never be forgotten after Zinedine Zidane was sent off in his last ever game for head-butting Marco Materazzi.

But both sets of players insist that incident is in the past and Materazzi is unlikely to start Tuesday's crunch game. Ribery said: "We've had many battles over the years and this will be another one.

"It's also a surprise that Italy have one point from two games and are bottom. But that could change after 90 minutes and they might still go through."

Ribery still believes France have an excellent chance of progressing as he can't see Holland deliberately losing.

He said: "Despite the fact Holland have qualified I believe they will be totally professional.

"Marco van Basten has the right to rest players andwe can't criticise whatever he does.

"The Dutch are a proud nation and would love to finish the group with three wins. I hope they do and that we qualify alongside them.

"However, you take nothing for granted in football.

"There might still be one or two surprises to come in our group. I don't want to be going home at this stage.

"We won this tournament in 2000 and have to think there is still a chance for us."

Even if Romania do beat Holland, French midfielder Claude Makelele is desperate to restore some pride by winning the final group game.

And the Chelsea star has vowed Les Bleus will go "all out" for victory.

Makelele said: "It's a shame we are in this position.

"Now we have to try to win the last match. It doesn't only depend on us as there's also the result of Romania's game.

"But we have to remain solid and go all out in the last game. If we're going to leave we must do it with our heads held high."