A defense of Benzema: Why should Deschamps have considered his Ballon d’Or in the final?

days before the end of Qatar 2022there was a real mess in the head of Didier Deschamps. Karim Benzema He recently recovered from the injury that kept him out of the World Cup and everyone has speculated about his return to the national team at the last minute to face Argentina. After that, doubts and dilemmas arose within the French coach: should he consider or not the Ballon d’Or in Sunday’s game? It seems that the decision has already been made: the ‘9′ madridista will not play the definition of the title.

Although Deschamps gave the go-ahead for Benzema to return to the national team last year, breaking his pride and putting any grudge behind him, sadly the best striker in the world today was injured days before the game.

The France coach, however, kept him on the list and did not call another player to replace him. With the ones he had, it was enough to put up a fight. So it was. France, despite the numerous valuable casualties it suffered along the way, reached the World Cup final again.

Now comes the most important game for the Frenchmen and, in this case, having the best weapons is always vital. But it seems that for Deschamps it is not like that. “I don’t want to answer that. Next question”pronounced the French coach emphatically when they asked him if Karim -already recovered- would be present in the final on Sunday.

Uncertainty grew a lot these days, but everything indicates that Deschamps does not have in mind to use his Ballon d’Or. The teamthe relationship between the coach and the striker today is “deteriorated”, so it is practically impossible for the ‘9’ Real Madrid player to mark a presence in France vs Argentina.

In any case, if France wins the two-time championship, Benzema could also boast the precious trophy despite not having played a minute in the World Cup, since he never stopped appearing in the calls for his team.

Reasons to consider

In principle, the finals are all or nothing. That Deschamps knows very well. Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud himself and the other stars on the squad may be enough. But the inclusion of Karim Benzema would also have meant a huge plus.

And it is that today Karim is at the peak of his career. His performance in the 2021/22 season was simply sensational. 44 goals in 46 games portrayed his great momentwhich led him to be crowned in the Champions League for the fifth time in his career.

His optimal present extended at the beginning of this 2022/23 season beyond the injuries he has suffered. In addition, his return to the French team had not been bad at all: 10 goals in 16 games played.

In that sense, Benzema can easily be a very important ace up his sleeve. Although France have found great strengths with Giroud up front – in his most scoring facet – giving Karim a few minutes, at least coming on in the second half, would not necessarily spoil the plans. He already knows how Deschamps works and what he is raising today.

A no less important piece of information is that today there are five sick players in France, all in doubt for Sunday, so the ‘9′ madridista -and why not?- could add more backup people on the bench against any situation or adverse scenario that arises.

In addition, we are talking about the current Ballon d’Or. This, by itself, should have enormous weight for any decision. His presence can be decisive in any game and much more in a final. And, well, Qatar 2022 was Benzema’s last chance to succeed with his team, since he has already been on top of him for 34 years. On that side, a little sympathy would have come in handy too.