Three days before the France national team debuts in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, present Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema’s news of missing the tournament due to a thigh injury came out.
This will leave a sense of insufficiency in the defending champions.
Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante do not appear as well for the national side in the ongoing World Cup. Initially, Karim Benzema also missed the two World Cups: South Africa (2010), and Russia (2018).
Why couldn’t Karim Benzema play in the 2010 South Africa World Cup?
In 2010, France head coach Raymond Domenech rejected Benzema due to his inconsistency in Real Madrid, where he is a top star at present.
A sex scandal that involved the French star, was later locked as the primary reason for discarding him. But other players who were alleged of the same blame gave the ultimate roster.
He was a part of the next World Cup (Brazil, 2014) but a similar scandalous blame kept him away from the next World Cup.
Why not in the 2018 Russian World Cup?
The then-France head coach Didier Deschamps never confirmed why Benzema wasn’t a part of the 2018 World Cup. At that time again, he was involved in another sex scandal, featuring a sex tape of teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Allegedly, Benzema had knowledge of the tape and created part of the extortion network that blackmailed Valbuena.
After four years of wait, Benzema was all set to be a star in the Qatar World Cup but his injury has left the fans devastated. Will the defending champions be able to retain their title? Or, will we see a new winner this year? Stay tuned to the grandest sports event: Football World Cup, 2022 (Qatar).
Read More: Benzema heads another Real Madrid party at the Globe Soccer Awards
