French football legend Thierry Henry has clarified comments he made about a pair of Nigerian Super Eagles shorts worn by popular American streamer IShowSpeed during the United States’ opening match against Paraguay.

The incident occurred during the United States’ 4-1 victory over Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium, where Henry was working as a pundit.

During the broadcast, IShowSpeed appeared wearing Nigerian Super Eagles shorts underneath a USA jersey, prompting Henry to jokingly describe the outfit as “bad luck.” Coincidentally, the remark came moments after Paraguay pulled a goal back to reduce the deficit from 3-0.

Many supporters interpreted the comment as disrespectful to Nigeria and the Super Eagles, triggering widespread criticism across social media platforms.

Following the backlash, the former Arsenal and Barcelona forward explained that the statement was intended as a light-hearted joke and was never meant as an insult to Nigeria, its national team or its supporters.

“I don’t think people understand when a joke is a joke. IShowSpeed had the shorts of Nigeria and the top of the US. I just told him it was bad luck to break the set. It could have been the shorts of France, Italy or Spain, I would have said the same thing.

“I was just having a little joke, not that Nigeria is bad luck, and I even said I love Naija. I have mad respect for Nigeria and the people there, and a lot of Arsenal fans.

“Don’t misunderstand stuff. Nigeria is never bad luck,” Henry concluded.

The brief exchange gained traction online due to IShowSpeed’s massive global following, which runs into tens of millions across multiple social media platforms, as well as the growing interest surrounding the ongoing World Cup in the United States.

The reaction to Henry’s comments may also have been heightened by the Super Eagles’ consecutive absences from the World Cup despite being one of Africa’s most successful national teams and producing several players who have excelled in Europe’s top leagues.