France 3 - 1 Tunisia

Henry is France's saviour

Updated: October 14, 2008, 9:59 PM UK

PARIS, October 14 (International Friendly) - Thierry Henry rode to his coach Raymond Domenech's rescue once again by grabbing a brace as France came from behind to defeat Tunisia in an international friendly in Paris on Tuesday.

With his position under heavy scrutiny ahead of Wednesday's meeting of the French Football Federation board, Domenech would have been feeling the pressure when Issam Jemaa put the Tunisians ahead in the 30th minute.

But Les Bleus skipper Henry netted twice in an eight-minute spell either side of half-time to take the heat off Domenech and fellow striker Karim Benzema notched the killer third just before the hour mark.

Following France's great fightback in the 2-2 draw with Romania in Saturday's World Cup qualifier, the FFF are likely to give Domenech a stay of execution and this win 24 hours before their meeting will do him no harm.

But it needed Henry's 47th and 48th international goals to ease the tension, with the north Africans providing game opposition, especially in the first half.

Domenech opted to rotate his full-backs by replacing Patrice Evra and the injured Bacary Sagna with Gael Clichy and debutant Rod Fanni, but elsewhere there were few gambles in a positive team selection.

And with Domenech's position not completely secure, this was clearly no ordinary friendly. Certainly Tunisia were not treating it as such and their fans packed the Stade de France, making it feel like an away match for the hosts.

Every touch by a Les Bleus player - especially Tunisia-born France playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa, who came on as a second-half substitute - was jeered and such an atmosphere made for a lively opening.

Alou Diarra dragged a shot wide for the French in the eighth minute while at the other end, Fahid Ben Khalfallah fired a rising effort just over soon after.

France's passing early on was not up to scratch, especially with their Tunisian opponents snapping at their heels, and it was obvious from the start that Domenech's men were not going to have it all their own way.

Their task became even harder when they fell behind. Jemaa ran rings round Jean-Alain Boumsong down the left and his shot from an acute angle deflected in off the feet of France goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.

Their lead did not last long, Henry making up for a gilt-edged miss from a close-range header in the 35th minute with a stunning equaliser five minutes before the interval.

Picking the ball up on the halfway line, the Barcelona striker sped clear and exchanged a one-two with Yoann Gourcuff before curling an unstoppable shot into the top corner from 25 yards.

Henry then put his side ahead three minutes into the second half when he ran on to a miscued shot by Gourcuff to apply a deadly far-post finish from close range.

Benzema put the result beyond doubt in the 57th minute when he capitalised on a dreadful defensive clearance to dispatch a clinical first-time finish from the edge of the area.

Fanni was influential in the build-up to that goal with a neat piece of skill down the right and the Rennes right-back will be delighted with his first start for his country.

Forward Florent Sinama-Pongolle also made his France bow, as a second-half replacement, but he did not have a chance to get on the scoresheet with his team-mates happy to play keep-ball in the final 20 minutes.