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Why Tottenham’s Mathys Tel earned a Thierry Henry comparison from Jermain Defoe after France U-21 win
Mathys Tel scored the winning goal for France Under-21 to send them into the semi-finals of the European Championships.
The Frenchman had a frustrating evening up until his goal, but he made up for it with a moment of magic and a trademark finish.
The 20-year-old cut inside from the left-hand side of the penalty area and curled his effort around the Danish defender and passed the goalkeeper.
Tottenham hero Jermain Defoe was full of praise for him after the match and even compared him to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.
Jermain Defoe says Mathys Tel’s goal was ‘Thierry Henry-like’
Defoe loved Mathys Tel’s persistence for France Under-21s as after six attempts at goal, the forward finally found the back of the net with his seventh effort of the match.
The former Spurs striker also admitted that Tel looks so dangerous in one-versus-one situations, and his finish for the goal was ‘Thierry Henry-like’.
Defoe told Channel 4: “As soon as he gets it here, you always fancy him one-versus-one – that’s what he does well. That’s Thierry Henry-like. He uses the defender and just curls it, a really controlled finish. It’s well executed and the keeper has no chance
“He deserved that, to be honest, because he looked bright and sharp all game, he missed a couple of chances in the first half, but key moments in games that make the difference.
| Stat | Total |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Shots | 7 |
| Shots on target | 3 |
| Dribble attempts (successful) | 4 (2) |
| Big chances missed | 2 |
| Touches | 30 |
| Key passes | 3 |
| Duels | 7 (3) |
“He deserves a lot of credit because sometimes when you miss chances, you go missing and you don’t want the ball to fall to you, but he just kept going, kept making those runs and getting into those areas where you’re going to score goals. He deserved the goal in the end, he was one of the best players on the pitch in the end.”
Tottenham just signed Tel permanently as they paid Bayern Munich £30 million on top of the £8 million loan fee from last season.
Tel, who Tottenham think has a great mentality, could explode under Thomas Frank next season, especially given the Danish head coach’s record for developing attackers.
Frank did a great job at Brentford, improving the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins and Yoane Wissa.
Jermain Defoe backs Mathys Tel to take Dominic Solanke’s place at Tottenham
Joe Cole and Defoe also discussed whether Tel could take Dominic Solanke’s place at Tottenham Hotspur next season.
The former West Ham United and Chelsea winger thinks he could be a big player for the Lilywhites next season and thinks Frank will gradually bed him into the team.
Cole said: “I think he’s one of them for Spurs next year, where I think wherever you go with your front three, he’s number four and you’re just building him into the Premier League, because I think he can play either side and as a number nine.”
In response to whether Tel can take Solanke’s spot, Defoe added: “He’s got to think like that, young player, but he’s got to think that. Hopefully he’ll continue this way in this tournament and go into pre-season confident, and then you never know.”