 Henry enjoyed a successful career with the France national team , winning the first of his 123 caps in June 1997 , when his good form for Monaco was rewarded with a call @-@ up to the Under @-@ 20 French national team , where he played in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside future teammates William Gallas and David Trezeguet . Within four months , France head coach Aimé Jacquet called Henry up to the senior team . The 20 @-@ year @-@ old made his senior international debut on 11 October 1997 in a 2 – 1 win against South Africa . Jacquet was so impressed with Henry that he took him to the 1998 FIFA World Cup . Although Henry was a largely unknown quantity at international level , he ended the tournament as France 's top scorer with three goals . He was scheduled to appear as a substitute in the final , where France beat Brazil 3 – 0 , but Marcel Desailly 's sending off forced a defensive change instead . In 1998 , he was made Chevalier ( Knight ) of the Légion d 'honneur , France 's highest decoration . 
