It seems that France will have to do without Karim Benzema during the opening match at the World Cup. The French striker has not yet trained with the group in Qatar and will most likely have to miss the duel with Australia. For Didier Deschamps, the loss of Benzema means another setback. Earlier this week, the national coach already saw another vanguard player drop out with Christopher Nkunku.
Benzema has been struggling with injuries for a while. The Frenchman participated in the Champions League meeting with Celtic for less than half an hour on November 2, but has been waiting for full match fitness for almost a month. The opening game with Australia initially seemed feasible for the Real Madrid striker, but according to French media, Benzema has to let the game go. Olivier Giroud looks like his most likely replacement at the point of attack.
Deschamps has been dealing with injuries throughout the preparation. Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté have therefore had to draw a line through the World Cup. This week the names of Presnel Kimpembe and Nkunku were added. The defender of Paris Saint-Germain reported on Monday, Nkunku was injured during training on Tuesday after a collision with Eduardo Camavinga. Raphaël Varane, who was injured in the cracker between Manchester United and Chelsea, has been included in the selection.
Deschamps announced the names of only 25 World Cup visitors last week, one less than is allowed. He only wanted to fill the last place on the day of the FIFA deadline. On Monday, Marcus Thuram was told to pack his bags. This means that there are still 26 names on the World Cup list of the French team. France is in a group with Australia, Denmark and Tunisia. Deschamps’ team will start against Australia on Tuesday. The meeting with Denmark awaits on Saturday, after which the group stage will be closed against Tunisia.
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