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Barcelona ace Henry backs Rangers to qualify

"Why can't Rangers qualify?" said Henry.

"I hope we can get a better result at our place, but I think Rangers have what it takes to win in Stuttgart. I think the decisive game will be against Lyon at Ibrox and, if it stays the same, then they will have to come to Glasgow and win by a heavy score. I'm French but, to be honest, I don't see that happening. You have to give credit to Rangers for their performances. They fought really well and they deserve to be top of the league with us. Any team that wins 3-0 in Lyon has to respected.

"This was always going to be hard for us and, in the end, it's an important point for both teams. It keeps us four clear of Lyon. "Overall, I think we could have played a bit quicker in our passing. But we now have two games in the Nou Camp and I think we will go through with one win."

Henry insisted Rangers' rise through a hugely demanding group had not caught him by surprise. The Frenchman had, after all, lauded the standard of Scottish football during Barca's pre-season training camp which featured wins over Dundee United and Hearts.

"I'm not surprised by Rangers doing so well," he said. "The seedings in the group are decided by what teams did in the past, but right now Scottish football is doing really well. Rangers and Celtic are a big part of that.

"I know the Scottish players and what they can do. Other people might be surprised by Rangers, but not me. I know the atmosphere that's generated here and that makes it tough for any team. I thought the fans were unbelievable again. They were not swearing or shouting stupid things, they were just pushing their team forward and that's a great thing to see.

"I said at St Andrews that I thought Scottish football was on the up, but it's about people believing in it. I saw a couple of people laughing when I spoke about the guys at Dundee United who I thought were more than decent players. Now Scottish football is way better than in the past.

"AC Milan lost 2-1 at Celtic. We didn't lose but this was a good point against a team who won at Lyon, the six-times champions of France. That's not easy. Rangers or Celtic can win any game of football. In the game right now, there are not small or big teams even though people like to try to highlight that."

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