With Euro 2020 just around the corner, it seems that Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema is set for a France recall, following another outstanding season in Spain.
The Frenchman's return could make for some awesome link-up with his new national teammates in FIFA 21!
#BenzBack
Karim Benzema is set to make a sensational return to the France national team for this summer's European Championship.
The Real Madrid striker has been exiled by the French Football Federation since 2015 after his alleged role in the sex-tape blackmail of former teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Various reports suggest that Benzema is likely to be included in the 26-man squad list announced later on Tuesday, following L'Equipe's report that he was being strongly considered by the manager Didider Deschamos.
Les Bleus enter the tournament among the favourites and Benzema, 33, has been one of Real's standout players this season with 37 goals and assists.
How France could line up in FIFA 21
Didier Deschamps will likely use Benzema in place of target man Olivier Giroud, with Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann operating as inverted wingers.
This would work brilliantly with Benzema showing his versatility over the years as a forward, able to drop deep to free up space in behind - something that Mbappe's pace would take advantage of - or leading the line as a true number 9.
Didier Deschamps' headache will be whether he can afford to play three out-and-out attackers, and may have to adjust the shape into more traditional formations.
At the last World Cup, France played a 4-2-3-1, and counter-balanced the attacking trio (with Giroud leading the line) by playing Blaise Matuidi out wide on the left.
He could do the same this time, with Paul Pogba moving from defensive to left midfield - freeing him up to drift inside - a role he has enjoyed in recent months for Manchester United.
The other possible outcome could be dropping a true forward altogether - having Mbappe and Griezmann as a strike partnership - something Deschamps tried in March in a 1-0 win over Bosnia Herzegovina.
That said, they were goalless in that game until Giroud came on, and you would be surprised that Deschamps and the French Football Federation would bring Benzema out of exile to sit on the bench.
Another subplot in all of this is the relationship between Benzema and the man he is likely to replace in the squad Olivier Giroud.
There is no love lost between the pair, with Benzema saying the following when asked about Giroud:
"You don’t confuse F1 with go-karting. And I’m being kind. Next… and I know I’m F1.
“It works because he’s there. That’s all. It’s not going to be spectacular, it’s not going to be anything crazy but in his way, you see more of Griezmann or Mbappe because he will put the work in."
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