Henry sets up French win over Denmark

An early goal by Thierry Henry and a late Sylvain Wiltord penalty gave France a 2-0 win over Denmark in a World Cup warm-up match on Wednesday.

France offered a more convincing show than in a laboured 1-0 victory over Mexico on Saturday but looked nervous at times against opponents who failed to qualify for the June 9-July 9 finals in Germany.

"Victories now don't really count but it's always nice to win," France coach Raymond Domenech said.

"I don't really have any concerns. I know how good the players in this group are. There's still some fine-tuning to do before it gets real."

Henry, rested against Mexico, raced into the box to collect a headed pass from fellow striker Louis Saha and beat Denmark goalkeeper Jesper Christiansen from close range on 12 minutes.

It was Henry's 32nd international goal in his 77th appearance, which makes the Arsenal forward the most prolific scorer in France's current squad ahead of David Trezeguet, who has scored 31.

Wiltord doubled the advantage on 76 minutes after fellow substitute Franck Ribery, who thrilled the Lens crowd on his second appearance for France, was brought down in the box.

The last time France had played Denmark, they lost 2-0 to make a shock group-stage exit from the 2002 World Cup.

WORRYING DEFENCE

The 1998 world champions play a final friendly against China on June 7 in St Etienne before facing Switzerland in their opening World Cup match on June 13 in Stuttgart. South Korea and Togo will be France's other opponents in Group G.

France survived a couple of scares after opening the scoring, first on 21 minutes with a shot from 20 metres by midfielder Christian Poulsen that flew just over the bar and then a minute later with an effort from the edge of the box by striker Jon Dahl Tomasson which went narrowly wide.

France showed more initiative up front than against Mexico but their defence looked worrying on occasions, notably when goalkeeper Fabien Barthez had to dive to catch a back pass from Lilian Thuram shortly before the break.

Henry and Saha kept combining well, suggesting the pair could be picked in Germany rather than Trezeguet and Djibril Cisse, who played disappointingly against Mexico.

Wigan Athletic defender Pascal Chimbonda came on late to win his first cap for France but the substitute of the day was Ribery, who shone after replacing a below-par Zinedine Zidane in the 66th minute.

Olympique Marseille's Ribery, hailed by many as the next Zidane, was born near northern Lens and stayed on the pitch for a while after the final whistle to savour a deserved ovation.

"I feel really well in that team," Ribery said. "Every time we train or play together, it's a lot of fun."