Henry: It was a penalty

Thierry Henry insists he did not exaggerate the foul which earned France a key penalty.

Thierry Henry insists he did not exaggerate the foul which earned France a place in the World Cup final.

France sunk Portugal 1-0 in Wednesday's semi-final after Zinedine Zidane converted a first half penalty.

The spot kick was awarded after Henry was tripped by Ricardo Carvalho, who felt the referee's decision was harsh.

But French striker Henry has played down any notion he over-reacted to the challenge and believes Les Bleus have acted fairly throughout the tournament.

"There is a real penalty against Portugal," Henry told L'Equipe. "I was concentrated on going past, knowing there was no one else behind.

"Ricardo Carvalho touched me. He didn't make a big foul, but that was enough to make me lose my balance without exaggerating.

"Since the game against Switzerland, we saw that only the referee is in command, so we told ourselves it is useless to question his decision - that it would make us lose our energy in a stupid way.

"So, rather than rounding on the referee each time, we have preferred to go on playing and focusing on our game.

"That is why you didn't see us moaning a lot about (Patrick) Muller's handball and Pat's (Vieira) headed goal."

Henry is aware of the threat Italy pose to France on the counter-attack, but is hoping the 1998 winners' unity will bring a second World Cup crown in Berlin on Sunday.

He added: "Yes, they are dangerous, Italy is a scorpion.

"They are able to defend as well as France. They wait for the adversary more than anyone else, but that didn't prevent them scoring twice against Germany.

"Actually, Italy make you sleep then bite you, but we can do that, too.

"I have always said, and I will say it again, and not only because we are in the World Cup final; if you want to go somewhere to win, whatever it is, you can only go as a team, not playing alone or with two players.

"Then, the individual talents make the difference, but not before and once again it has proved to be true.

"Against Portugal we saw players that defended, fought and attacked all together. No player ever gives up. All that makes us a strong team.

"I hope we would have enough energy remaining for the final. The most important thing is to recover well before Sunday's final. That will make the difference towards the Italians."