Where are they now? Thierry Henry’s France Olympic Silver Medalists ft. THREE elite stars | OneFootball

This summer will mark two years since the Paris Olympics, when Thierry Henry couldn’t make the most of a talented group of French players in the men’s football tournament.

France were the hosts for the 2024 Olympics and their football team were hoping to win gold, but were beaten 5-3 after extra time by a Spain side featuring the likes of Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, Fermin Lopez and Alex Baena.

Of course, the Spanish team had a talented pool too, but given how some of the French players have progressed since, it’s hard to fathom how they failed to win gold.

We’ve taken a look back at France’s starting XI and (in some cases even better) substitutes that lost to Spain.

GK: Guillaume Restes

Restes had just finished his first season in the first team with Toulouse heading into the Olympics after graduating from their academy.

The 21-year-old is still playing for Toulouse to this day, now with more than 100 appearances for the club under his belt.

At international level, Restes was in the France U21 squad for the 2025 Euros, playing in four matches before being eliminated in the semi-finals.

RB: Kiliann Sildillia (Rayan Cherki, ‘111)

Sildillia is becoming a well-travelled player for his age. In 2024, he was already playing club football outside of France, for German side Freiburg.

He joined Dutch giants PSV in 2025 and has become an Eredivisie winner this season. At first, he was in and out of the lineup, but he has earned a consistent starting place recently.

About to turn 24 and therefore no longer eligible for under-21 football, he is yet to make a senior international debut for France.

In the Olympic Gold Medal match, he was replaced in extra time by attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki, who has been one of the signings of the season in the Premier League this season after joining Manchester City from Lyon.

CB: Loic Bade

After his ill-fated 2022 loan spell with Nottingham Forest, which included no appearances, Bade joined Sevilla from Rennes in 2023.

The defender made 93 appearances for Sevilla before signing for Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, a couple of months after making his senior debut for France.

Bade, 26, has played 34 times for Leverkusen so far.

CB: Castello Lukeba

Lukeba had already made his senior debut for France before the Olympics, although it remains his only cap for his country.

His senior bow for France came in October 2023, a couple of months after his move from Lyon to RB Leipzig.

Lukeba’s next appearance for Leipzig will be his 100th. However, he has been linked with taking the next step in his career this summer, amid reports of a release clause in his contract.

LB: Adrien Truffert (Bradley Locko, ’91)

Truffert has turned out to be a shrewd replacement for Milos Kerkez at Bournemouth this season after his summer move from Rennes, where he originally made his debut in senior football in 2020.

Like Lukeba, Truffert had already played once for the senior French national side before the Olympics – in his case, in September 2022 – but hasn’t since.

Nevertheless, the 24-year-old has made solid progress in his debut Premier League season.

He was replaced in the Olympic Gold Medal match by Bradley Locko, who remains at Brest.

DM: Manu Kone (Soungoutou Magassa, ‘106)

Kone attracted some interest while at Borussia Monchengladbach, ultimately earning a move to Roma late in the same summer of the Olympics.

Didier Deschamps gave him his senior France debut a week after his move to Italy, which was the first of 12 caps he has earned so far.

For Roma, Kone has made 79 appearances, particularly impressing in his debut season.

His substitute in the Olympic final was Soungoutou Magassa, who joined West Ham from Monaco ahead of this season.

CM: Enzo Millot (Desire Doue, ’77)

Millot’s appearances at the Olympics actually preceded his under-21 debut for France, but he was already established in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart at that stage.

The midfielder left Stuttgart in the summer to join Saudi Pro League side, Al Ahli.

Exciting winger Desire Doue, who came on for Millot in the Olympic final, joined PSG from Rennes in the summer of 2024 and is closing in on his 100th appearance for the club.

CM: Joris Chotard (Maghnes Akliouche, ’52)

Chotard had more than 100 appearances for Montpellier to his name before the 2024 Olympics.

He ultimately left Montpellier following their relegation in 2025, making a domestic switch back up to Ligue 1 with Brest, where he has become a regular starter.

Maghnes Akliouche replaced him in the Gold Medal match. The Monaco attacking midfielder now has seven senior caps for France to his name and has reportedly attracted interest from a range of clubs.

CAM: Michael Olise

After enjoying an impressive ending to his Crystal Palace career, Olise earned a move to Bayern Munich in July 2024.

The winger committed his international future to France by making his senior debut a few weeks after the Olympics.

These days, he is thriving for Bayern, scoring 20 goals and making more than 30 assists this season – which has to make him a contender for the Ballon d’Or.

ST: Alexandre Lacazette (Arnaud Kalimuendo, ’52)

Lacazette was in the Olympics squad as an overage player, captaining Henry’s side at the age of 33 – nearly seven years after his last senior cap for France.

The former Arsenal striker went on to see out one final, 19-goal season with Lyon before joining Saudi Pro League side, Neom.

He has 12 goals in 30 games for Neom so far.

His substitute in the Olympic final, Arnaud Kalimuendo, was playing for Rennes at the time but became a Nottingham Forest player in 2025.

A disappointing start to his Premier League career prompted an exit after half a season for Eintracht Frankfurt, where he has scored six goals from 17 games.

ST: Jean-Philippe Mateta

Another of France’s overage players at the Olympics, Mateta was 27 years old and had just completed his third full – and highest-scoring – season in the Premier League with Crystal Palace.

Although he agitated for a move in January, Mateta remains a Palace player to this day. He has played 196 times for them, scoring 59 goals.

On the international stage, Mateta made his first three caps for France last autumn, scoring twice.