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Two of the more talented squads in international soccer squaring off against each other is a match that doesn't take much selling, even if Belgium and Spain are merely warming each other up for the start of their respective 2018 World Cup qualifying campaigns.
But this game has the added distinction of being the first time both teams will take the field under the guidance of new head coaches: Julen Lopetegui is the man tasked with filling Vicente del Bosque's very successful shoes; Roberto Martinez is the surprise choice of the Belgian football authorities to lead one of the most world's most talented national team squads to glory.
There will be an abundance of stars on the pitch, and it will be interesting to see how their new managers line them up and ask them to go about the business of winning a game of soccer. But mostly, this match will be scrutinized for evidence of the influence of an assistant coach on Belgium's staff: Thierry Henry.
Henry's appointment to Martinez's coaching team was a surprise, since the preceding mention of his nascent coaching career was in the context of not being allowed continue his work with Arsenal's youth teams.
Still, despite the fact Henry is not the head coach nor even the primary assistant for Belgium, one suspects his presence on the sidelines will get a lot of attention from the TV cameras, and the performance of the Belgian forwards will be scrutinized for evidence of the influence of man who just started working with them this week.
It’s a new day for Thierry Henry. pic.twitter.com/8DqD501i3k
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) August 29, 2016
This match is not Henry's first step toward a head coaching position of his own, but it is the most visible one yet - and Once A Metro wishes the New York Red Bulls (and Arsenal, and France) legend every success in his new role.