Under the inspirational leadership of head coach Didier Deschamps, defending champions France have made it to the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. France suffered a series of setbacks in the build-up to the Qatar World Cup as several household names were ruled out of the showpiece event due to their respective injuries. Superstars Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku joined France’s lengthy injury list days before the start of the event.
After Ballon d’Or holder Benzema was ruled out of the Qatar World Cup, Deschamps’ France opted not to seek a like-for-like replacement for the Real Madrid captain. France instead decided to continue with 25 players and the reigning world champions lived up to expectations in Qatar. On Thursday, Kylian Mbappe-starrer France registered a convincing 2-0 win over giant-killers Morocco in the second semi-final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium.
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Interestingly, Real Madrid star Benzema has returned to training ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup final. The veteran forward is still registered in France’s star-studded World Cup squad. Can Benzema feature in the final of the Qatar World Cup? French head coach Deschamps was asked about his involvement in one of his recent press conferences.
“I don’t really want to answer that question. Next question,” Deschamps was quoted as saying by Goal.com. Earlier, Deschamps was quizzed about Benzema’s availability when it was learned that the Real Madrid star is on verge of recovering from a thigh injury. “Wow. Well, I’m not sure [what to say], that’s really not something that I’m thinking about. You seem to know a lot about the situation but I haven’t really been following who has been saying what,” Deschamps had said.
Benzema, who guided Real Madrid to UEFA Champions League glory last season, has recorded only 12 appearances for Los Blancos in the 2022-23 campaign. Reigning champions France will meet Lionel Messi-led Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday.
