- Benzema announces his retirement from the French national team
- 2022-12-20 14:17:14.0 Source: Xinhuanet
Author: Xie Yuzhi
French striker Benzema, who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid, announced on the 19th that he will retire from the French national team.
Benzema chose to announce the news on his 35th birthday. On social media, he posted a photo of him wearing the French national team shirt and wrote: “I made the necessary efforts and made the mistakes that should be made. I got to today. I’m sorry for everyone about this. Proud. I wrote my story, and our story has come to an end.” This short text means that his “grievances” with the French national team will end.
Benzema made his international debut in March 2007 in a friendly match against Austria. He then participated in the 2008, 2012 European Championships and the 2014 World Cup with the French team. But since the end of 2015 he was rejected by Didier Deschamps’ French national team due to his involvement in the blackmail case of French player Valbuena. It was in his absence that the French team ushered in one of the most glorious periods in its history: the team took second place at the 2016 European Championships and won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In 2021, Deschamps was forced to re-recruit Benzema under outside pressure. Although Benzema scored 4 goals in the European Championship, the French team unfortunately missed the quarterfinals. In October of the same year, Benzema helped his team win the UEFA Champions League, which is the only trophy he has ever lifted for his country.
In the Qatar World Cup, Benzema was successfully selected for the French national team as the new Golden Globe winner. However, just before the start of the match, he injured his left leg while training. Manager Didier Deschamps quickly made the decision to let him leave the team. Benzema’s World Cup dreams have failed yet again. Just one day after the French side’s defeat in the final, Benzema, who had already returned to Madrid, announced the end of his international career.
So far Benzema has played 97 times for the national team and scored 37 goals. He is the fifth best scorer in the history of the French national team.
