Karim Benzema returned to action on Thursday at Real Madrid. The striker played in a practice match against Leganés. The door is open to visit the World Cup final between France and Argentina in Qatar on Sunday, but the question is whether the attacker is hungry for it.
Benzema dropped out shortly before the World Cup with an injury, but national coach Didier Deschamps did not call for a replacement. The attacker recently resumed training in Madrid and showed himself against Leganés on Thursday. The exhibition game lasted an hour and ended in 1-1. Toni Kroos scored on behalf of Los Blancos.
Because Deschamps did not call up a replacement for Benzema, the striker can in theory even take action against Argentina. However, the manager did not think about that at all after the semi-final win against Morocco. “Come on, next question,” he replied.
According to Spanish media, Benzema has received an invitation to attend the final in Lusail. The question is whether the attacker likes that. According to Relevo and Sport, the relationship between him and Deschamps deteriorated after the injury. Benzema would be disappointed by the lack of compassion from the national coach and the French federation after he had to drop out for the World Cup.
Benzema hoped to continue training in Qatar and possibly make his comeback in a later France match, but Deschamps would have made it clear that there was no place in the group for an injured player. Subsequently, Benzema returned to Madrid. He would not like to return to Qatar for the final.
Szymon Marciniak will referee the World Cup
In related news Szymon Marciniak will referee the World Cup final between Argentina and France on Sunday. FIFA opted for the Polish arbitrator, who had a chance together with Englishman Anthony Taylor. Abdulrahman Al-Jassim leads the consolation final between Croatia and Morocco a day earlier.
Marciniak is the first with his appointment. Never before has a referee from Poland officiated the final of a World Cup. During the final battle in 2018 between France and Croatia, Argentinian Néstor Pitana was the referee. Ismail Elfath is the fourth official on Sunday.
Marciniak was already in charge of a match for both France and Argentina during the World Cup. The referee officiated the group match between France and Denmark (2-1) and the round of 16 between Argentina and Australia (2-1).
