LADBROKES are set to give away hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of free bets if Thierry Henry nets the first goal of tomorrow's (Sun) World Cup Final.

The Magic Sign have chalked the Arsenal striker up as the 4/1 favourite to open the scoring in the showpiece event in Berlin.

But they are prepared to take him on - and put their money where their mouth is - given his poor record on the big stage.

If Henry obliges with the first goal, every new Ladbrokes account customer who spends £10 on the game will be given £100's worth of free bets to wager as they chose.

The France forward was left on the bench when his country lifted the trophy in 1998 and didn't find the net in the Euro 2000 final.

He also failed to score in the FA Cup finals of 2001, 2002 and 2003 and in May's Champions League final in Paris.

Ladbrokes spokesman Robin Hutchison: "There's a school of thought that say Henry is a flat-track bully who can't do it when it matters.

"He will be very well supported tomorrow having already netted three times in the competition but we're very happy to take him on.

"It will cost us big time if he does get the opener - but we're not convinced he has what it takes."

Henry is 6/4 to net at any time, 8/1 to score from outside the penalty area and 50/1 to hit an unlikely hat-trick.

LATEST BETTING

Henry specials

To score first goal 4/1
To score at any time 6/4
Not to score 1/2
To be substituted in 90 mins 2/1
To score outside the penalty area 8/1
To score inside the penalty area 5/2
To score a header 12/1
To score with his foot 2/1
To score a hat-trick 50/1

Henry offer

Ladbrokes are offering ten free £10 bets to all customers who open a new account and stake £10 on the World Cup Final if Thierry Henry scores the first goal of the game during the 90 minutes.