Fifa World Cup: Mixed World Cup emotions for French legend Henry

Belgium assistant coach Thierry Henry greets France's Kylian Mbappe. Photo / AP

Former French football legend Thierry Henry must have had mixed emotions as the nation of his birth reached the World Cup final and the country he helps coach was eliminated.

Henry, World Cup winner in 1998 with Les Bleus, is assistant coach to Roberto Martinez, manager of Belgium, beaten 1-0 in the semifinals this morning.

It will be France's third World Cup final in the past six tournaments.

At the final whistle, there were congratulations and commiserations for and from Henry as he hugged and spoke with players on both sides.

Before the match, Henry was being equally social, chatting with French players and embracing the opposition manager, Didier Deschamps.

Deschamps and Henry were teammates together in France '98, when the hosts beat Brazil in Paris to lift what is their only major tournament trophy.

During the national anthems, Henry stood with his head bowed in respectful silence through both La Marseillaise and La Brabanconne.

Henry, unlike Deschamps and other former French internationals, was not asked to be part of the France coaching set-up - Belgium, and Martinez, came to him first.