Henry plays down talk of revenge

France and Italy cross swords once again on Wednesday in a re-match of the World Cup final with the hosts playing down talk of a revenge mission.

After a 3-0 win in Georgia, Raymond Domenech’s team have stolen a march on the Italians in the race for Euro 2008 qualification, with the new world champions held to a 1-1 draw by Lithuania on Saturday.

A win for Les Bleus would put them five points ahead of their rivals – and that is the team’s principle motivation, according to France striker Thierry Henry.

“This isn’t a boxing fight with the belt at stake,” said the Arsenal captain.

“If we win, we will only have claimed three valuable points on the way to Euro 2008. Even if we do win, nobody will give us the World Cup.”

Those sentiments are echoed by Italy skipper Fabio Cannavaro, who is not reading much into Saturday’s disappointment in his home city of Naples.

“I want to win Euro 2008 and winning against France is essential,” he told L’Equipe.

“I am certain we can play to win in Paris, even if we aren’t yet at the peak of our form. We dictated the game (against Lithuania) and deserved to win.”

Far from being a revenge mission on Wednesday, Cannavaro believes the France v Italy re-match has already taken place. He said: “At Rotterdam, when we lost the Euro 2000 final, Italy played better than France, but France won.

“In Berlin, France played better, but we won.”