Football. Benzema draws the line under the French team
“I made efforts and mistakes to get to where I am today and I am proud of it! I wrote my story and our story is over,” Karim Benzema wrote on the social network on Monday, ending his selection career. Meanwhile, the plane brought home the ill-fated Blues finalists of the World Cup in Qatar.
LThe World Cup in Qatar will be the final straw: Karim Benzema, who had to withdraw from this edition with a heavy heart due to an injury, decided to end his career in the French national team, which he was particularly upset about.
It was through a message on social networks that the Ballon d’Or 2022 was announced a day after the Blues lost the final against Argentina (3-3 after extra time, 2 shots on goal) and about it. 35 years old. “I made efforts and mistakes to get to where I am today and I am proud of it! I wrote my story and ours is finished”the “Real Madrid” scorer wrote on his Twitter account accompanied by a picture of him in his national uniform.
His package, just three days before the first match against Australia (4-1), was a turning point for Lyonnais. He was forced to drop out of the group rather hastily, while barely recovering from a right-sided injury that hit his left thigh in training. His recovery time was estimated by the French Federation (FFF) at three weeks, but the episode and his sly departure from Doha caused unease between him and the rest of the troupe, as well as Didier. Deschamps.. Responding to the question about the striker, who was not changed until the end of the tournament and was officially included in the list of blues in the World Cup, the coach said on November 29 that the player was. “didn’t occupy his mind”.
misunderstanding
Has his absence calmed his partners and eased their way to the final stage? However, just before the 2021 European Championship, he made it possible to return to the reigning hierarchy before returning to the French team, an absolute star in the form of Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud, who again became the 1st center. striker. Antoine Griezmann also used the opportunity to restore his influence in the game.
Benzema, for his part, did nothing to dispel the misunderstanding on social media, alternating messages of encouragement to the Frenchman and other more enigmatic ones, such as when he posted on Instagram shortly before the final: “I don’t care. ».
His injury was, in fact, the latest chapter in a complicated and turbulent story between him and the selection. Despite 97 games and 37 goals, the kid from Bron (Rhône) never really shined. The man who made his international debut against Austria on 28 March 2007 has won just one competition with his country, the 2021 Nations League. He went 1,222 minutes without a goal between 2012 and 2013.
Under these conditions, it was a big surprise that he returned just before the Euros last year. But this recall, above all, had the effect of disrupting the balance of Deschamps’ group on and off the field, as France stopped the fight against Switzerland in the round of 16 (3-3 ap, 4-5).
TO KNOW
“Historical audience record”, TF1 announces
24.08 million people watched the Argentina-France final on TF1 on Sunday. “Historical audience record” For French television
, One announced on Monday. However, this figure should be put into perspective as Médiamétrie expands its measurement of “out-of-home” audiences from 2020 onwards. This category, which already counts those who watch the program with friends or on internet screens outside the home, now differs from previous World Cups in bars, hotels, second homes, etc. also takes into account the audience. It peaked with 29.4 million viewers.
More than two hundred arrests in France
A total of 227 people were arrested in mainland France, including 47 in Paris and its capital, during the post-final clashes, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. According to a police source, 40 police personnel including 32 CRS were injured. According to the Paris public prosecutor’s office, twenty-seven adults and eight minors were taken into police custody for crimes such as “possession of explosive products”, “participation in a group with the aim of violence or indecency”, and “violence against people”. possession of state power, “degradation” or even “hate”.
Macron has been mocked by his political rivals
A relationship “absolutely ridiculous” According to National Rally Vice President Sébastien Chenou, “untimely and awkward” for socialist leader Olivier Faure: the opposition criticized Emmanuel Macron who consoled Kylian Mbappe after the final. “It was a bit terrifying to see him clinging to Mbappe like a cramp”– said deputy RN “It is completely inappropriate and its place, if it wants to be useful to France, should be in Montreal, where the COP 15 negotiations have ended”Marine Tondelier, the new head of the European Ecology-Greens organization, judged it: “He should have been in an air-conditioned stadium built on the blood of thousands of workers, not in a media operation. “.
“shame”in turn, MP EELV Sandrine Rousseau, who targeted the head of state, tweeted. “Emmanuel Macron, the world champion of shame”added another environmentalist, Benjamin Lucas. “Seeing the president come out on the field at the same time we have an important conference on biodiversity, I’m just saying that although I’m definitely a football fan, it’s never a ball that goes into the nets.”also considers Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, candidate for first secretary of the PS and candidate for mayor of Rouen as a socialist. “Finally, losing won’t be the hardest part of the day.”deputy La France Insoumise Thomas Portes quipped.
It’s about the president’s behavior towards the three-goal player on the lawn and all the blues in the locker room.
Early in the evening the Blues came good
The plane of the French team landed in Roissy/Charles-de-Gaulle on Monday evening around 8 p.m. At the airport, dozens of buses were parked on the pavement of the Pavillon d’Honneur waiting to transport the players and their coaching staff to the Place de la Concorde in Paris to meet their supporters. They left the scene around 21:00 without speaking in front of the audience of journalists.
