The Spanish captain Carlos Puyol claimed Henry had dived to win the free-kick that led to France's decisive second goal in Les Bleus' 3-1 triumph in Hanover on Tuesday night.

Puyol was furious as Patrick Vieira headed France into the lead from Zinedine Zidane's resulting set-piece, but Arsenal star Henry maintained he was fouled by the Barcelona defender.

He told BBC's Match of the Day: "Spain's left-back Mariano Perina was going to win the ball so I don't know why Puyol cut across me, but he did. I don't cheat."

Henry believes Raymond Domenech's side could repeat their 1998 World Cup victory thanks to their indomitable team spirit.

Despite widespread rumours of unrest in the French camp before the tournament and suggestions the senior players were unhappy with Domenech, Henry is adamant his team-mates are united in their desire to win the World Cup again.

He added: "I think we have got a lot of stick, but we have shown that we are a team.

"Now, no matter what happens, and you never know what can happen later on during the competition, we showed to our fans and to our people back in France that we are a team."