3:42 AM ET
Julien LaurensCorrespondent
DOHA, Qatar -- Karim Benzema near the Al Messila hotel, the luxurious residence wherever the France squad are staying, earlier 7 a.m. connected Sunday morning. He took the 8.08 a.m. Qatar Airways QR149 formation to Madrid and was backmost successful his location successful the Spanish superior by 2 p.m. section time. That's however his 2022 World Cup ended: implicit earlier the contention adjacent started.
Not each of his teammates got to accidental a due goodbye, either: Benzema didn't get backmost to his country until precocious Saturday, pursuing his scans astatine the Aspetar infirmary successful Doha, aft everyone had gone to sleep, and helium was gone erstwhile the squad woke up Sunday morning. Eduardo Camavinga, his teammate astatine Real Madrid, told the media that he'd been exchanging substance messages with Benzema and that the striker was perfectly devastated. Wouldn't you beryllium feeling the same?
- World Cup daily: USA footwear disconnected vs. Wales, Qatar suffer opener, more
On Monday, erstwhile ESPN had a chat with the 2022 Ballon d'Or victor successful Paris, helium had a large grin connected his face, saying that helium felt bully and was looking guardant to playing this tourney with the purpose of helping Les Bleus support the World Cup rubric they won successful Russia 4 years ago. Fast guardant little than a week and he's retired of the full happening without playing a azygous minute. He had waited 8 years to play different World Cup, aft being portion of the 2014 squad that made it to the quarterfinals and missing retired connected Russia. Benzema turns 35 adjacent month, truthful this was apt to beryllium his past shot. After disappointment successful Doha, he'll beryllium hoping it won't be.
The squad felt a spot KO'ed, and astir dizzied, by the news. After truthful galore halfway players pulled retired anterior to the squad announcement, it was hard to judge that they were losing different cardinal player.
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan and midfielders Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante were ruled retired successful caller weeks, lone for defender Presnel Kimpembe, midfielder Christopher Nkunku and present Benzema to beryllium sidelined successful the past week alone. That's 4 starters (Pogba, Kante, Kimpembe, Benzema), a apical back-up keeper (Maignan) and a versatile guardant who would beryllium your archetypal sub (Nkunku) if chasing, oregon controlling, the game. Coach Dider Deschamps decided not to regenerate Benzema and to instrumentality with 25 players. The reasoning is that each subordinate is connected vacation with their families close now, astir of them enjoying exotic destinations similar Miami oregon Dubai and lacking the clip to get acceptable physically for the rigors of a World Cup.
- World Cup 2022: Schedule, features and more | Fixtures
Along with the intelligence interaction of these injuries, losses to the squad and Deschamps' preparations for the tournament, they've wholly changed the dynamic. Playing with Olivier Giroud up beforehand is precise antithetic than playing with Benzema arsenic a No. 9: the second loves the state of the role, playing creator arsenic overmuch arsenic finisher, portion Giroud is much of a accepted centre-forward, fantabulous with his backmost to extremity and arsenic a pivot. Les Bleus surely cognize however to play with Giroud -- who was a large portion of their winning squad successful 2018, adjacent though helium didn't people successful Russia -- and the likes of Mbappe and Griezmann mesh good astir him.
As for the AC Milan striker, Benzema's wounded marks different singular twist successful his unthinkable career. A fewer weeks ago, Deschamps was reluctant to telephone Giroud up for the World Cup. Now, helium volition commencement and should get each accidental to fulfill his eventual dream, which is to drawback and overtake Thierry Henry arsenic the apical men's scorer successful France nationalist squad history. Giroud is connected 49 (in 114 caps, oregon 0.43 goals per game) portion Henry has 51 (123 games, oregon 0.41 extremity per game), truthful past could beryllium made successful Doha this winter.
Regardless of Giroud's performances, Benzema's lack means that Mbappe besides present has to measurement up adjacent more. If France privation to bash well, helium has to instrumentality over, beryllium the person and deliver. This is the signifier helium wants, and has ever wanted. And so, it's his accidental to amusement the full satellite that the prodigious kid from 2018, the lone teen (besides Pele) to people successful a World Cup final, is present an established, world-class superstar who volition marque the quality successful a tourney similar this one. Big stages beryllium to large players, truthful let's spot it, Kylian.
On Tuesday, France get a crippled with Australia to commencement the competition, conscionable similar they did successful 2018. It could beryllium a bully omen, but equally, it beryllium a trap. They volition beryllium assertive and physical, looking to marque the astir of acceptable pieces and not springiness France immoderate space. It is simply a situation to commencement with, particularly aft the Benzema drama.
Deschamps' connection to the players has been to usage the disappointment of these absentees to go stronger arsenic a group, beryllium much agreed and to pat into their warring mentality. They beryllium that to the stars that helped get them to this World Cup, lone to beryllium near watching from home.
English (US)