Thierry Henry Issues Statement After Nigeria Comment Backlash at World Cup

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Thierry Henry has issued a statement after inadvertently offending one nation competing at the 2026 World Cup.

The legendary French forward is working on the showpiece international tournament for US-broadcaster FOX Sports and met popular YouTuber IShowSpeed during the United States’ opening World Cup match against Paraguay on Friday.

A clip of Speed having his microphone taken away from him by Henry’s FOX Sports colleague and fellow football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic subsequently went viral on social media, but it was another clip that went down badly with the people of Nigeria.

Zlatan and Henry both noticed Speed was wearing a pair of Nigeria shorts with his US Men’s National Team jersey.

“I love Nigeria but not today,” Henry said. “Today is US for you.”

Speed replied: “What’s wrong with Nigeria?”

Henry said: “Nigeria is great,” shortly before Paraguay scored against the USA. “You see?” Henry said. “You bring bad luck. That’s you bringing bad luck.” Watch the clip below:

Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House’s Task Force for the 2026 World Cup, has provided his verdict on the controversial decision

After receiving some criticism from disappointed Nigeria fans, Henry released a statement via Instagram, explaining his comments.

“Hello my people, this is Thierry,” the Arsenal hero said. “What a game we had yesterday. I needed to clarify something because I don’t think people understand when a joke is a joke.

“IShowSpeed yesterday had the shorts of Nigeria and the top of the US. I just set to him ‘it’s bad luck to break the set. It could have been the shorts of France, Italy or Spain, I would have said the same thing."

He added: “I was just having a little joke with him, saying that it will be bad luck. Not that Nigeria is bad luck, but to break the set because you go as a set and I love Nigeria.

“And by the way, I do. I have mad respect for Nigeria and the people there. A lot of Arsenal fans out there, so don’t misunderstand stuff, please. Nigeria is never bad luck, I was just saying breaking the set is bad luck with any other shorts. Enjoy your day.” Watch Henry’s statement below:

Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals after losing on penalties to DR Congo in November.

Despite boasting a handful of household names in their current squad, including Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Alex Iwobi, Nigeria were unable to book their place at this summer’s tournament after also missing the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.

Meanwhile, the United States began their 2026 World Cup campaign with an emphatic 4-1 win over Paraguay at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles.

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