Benzema declines the invitation, Giroud on the bench? … Le journal des Bleus

And that’s it, it’s over. It’s both the big day, that of the World Cup final, and both the last day of the Blues newspaper and our adventure in Qatar. If we were told when we arrived that this JDB would last until the very last day, frankly, we wouldn’t have believed it. But now, with Didier Deschamps, nothing is impossible. Until the match against Argentina, let’s take a look at the news of the France team.

The sick are back

First good news, the sick Ibrahima Konaté, Raphaël Varane and Kingsley Coman have all three returned to the group for the collective training session on Saturday evening at the Jassim Bin-Hamad stadium. Above all, no new case is to be reported this Sunday morning, a few hours before the match. So far, so good.

Thuram on the left, Giroud on the bench?

In his set-up on the eve of the match, Didier Deschamps surprised everyone by fielding a typical team without Olivier Giroud but with Marcus Thuram on the left, whose entry into play in the semi-final against Morocco had done a world of good to the Blues, and Mbappé at the forefront. If the AC Milan striker finally regained his place at the top during the second part of the opposition, the possibility of seeing him start on the bench does exist. Final answer on the stroke of 5 p.m., one hour before kick-off.

No Benzema on Sunday in Doha

We should not see Karim Benzema’s head in the VIP stand of the Lusail stadium on Sunday, where the France-Argentina final is being played. Invited by President Macron to board the plane that will transport the French delegation to Doha, including Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kanté and Christopher Nkunku, the Madrilenian declined. The atmosphere now seems officially icy between KB9 and the staff of the Blues. According to The Teamcontact has indeed been completely broken since Benzema left Qatar on the sly the day after he tore his left quadriceps.

The Ballon d’Or 2022 would indeed have liked to stay on the spot to treat his injury while Deschamps preferred not to have a complicated case to manage on his hands. Since then, if Benzema posted a message of support after the qualification against England on his social networks, he also continues to write enigmatic messages like the latest, “I’m not interested”, which seems related to this Doha travel story. Good ambience…

The program of the day

The FFF warned on Saturday evening that it was inviting supporters of the Blues to gather on Sunday from 11 a.m. at the Hilton West Bay hotel in Doha. From there, a group march will be organized in order to head together around 3 p.m. to a metro station leading to the Lusail stadium. For their part, classic pre-match day for the Blues, who will take the direction of the stadium three hours before kick-off.

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