France head coach Deschamps lost Benzema from his Qatar 2022 squad on the eve of the tournament when the Balon d’Or winner and Real Madrid captain suffered a thigh injury.
Share:According to Deschamps, Benzema said he would not be able to return to the France camp to take part in the latter stages of the tournament.
It turned out, Benzema was back in training with Madrid in early December, and that led to speculation he might make a dramatic return for Les Bleus, as they chased a successful trophy defense.
That did not happen, with Benzema absent as France lost on penalties to Argentina in the final on December 18, denying France a back to back victory in the world biggest tournament.
Didier had gone on to say that Benzema’s absence from camp was solely his[Karim], as the coach had advised him against leaving before he left.
Benzema took to his social handles to say that the French head coach had told lies, and only went on to announce his international retirement on the 19th of December.
Karim had had a total of 97 appearances in the French colours since his debut against Austria in 2007, scoring 37 goals for the Les Blues