France National Football Team

Fans don't usually keep track of how many substitutions teams make in a football match. Even less so when there is extra time involved, when one more is ...

This is an exception that FIFA had introduced for this World Cup and had already implemented since the 2021 Club World Cup. It was the first international competition to implement this procedure. Even less so when there is extra time involved, when one more is allowed.

Fans will on Monday get the chance to meet the national team on its return from Qatar where they lost to Argentina in a nail-biting World Cup final, ...

The match was dominated by Argentina for the first 80 minutes before a quickfire double by Kylian Mbappe ignited France. “Football is often more than a sport. They want to go home as quickly as possible,” he said.

An outbreak of camel flu was claimed to be impacting the Les Blues versus Argentina game prior to today's final FIFA world cup game.

[Deschamps](/topic/deschamps)in bringing out the best in Mbappé, is the primary selection concern right now. [France](/topic/france)and [Argentina](/topic/argentina)on Sunday for FIFA [World Cup](/topic/world-cup)2022. Dayot Upamecano and [Adrien Rabiot](/topic/adrien-rabiot)are now the two most affected players; neither was able to participate in Wednesday's semi-final against Morocco due to illness.

After missing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Real Madrid striker Benzema has announced the end of his international career.

At the tournament finals in October 2021, he scored once as the French beat Belgium 3-2 in the semi-finals, before netting another in a 2-1 final victory over Spain. His exclusion from the international fold came after he was implicated in a sex-tape scandal involving blackmail against his former France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena. The Real Madrid star revealed his decision in a social-media post on Monday, writing: “I put in all the effort and made all the mistakes I had to in order to get to where I am today, and I’m proud of that.

Karim Benzema announced his retirement from international soccer Monday, one day after France lost the 2022 World Cup final.

In all, Benzema has won 23 trophies with Real Madrid, including four [ La Liga](https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/la-liga), two [Copa del Rey](https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/copa-del-rey) and five Champions League titles since joining in 2009. [ FIFA World Cup 2022](/stories/soccer/world-cup-2022-final-live-social-reaction) [ FIFA World Cup 2022](/stories/soccer/a-scintillating-performance-kylian-mbappe-gave-his-all-in-world-cup-final) [ FIFA World Cup 2022](/stories/soccer/lionel-messi-cements-his-goat-status-with-a-little-help-from-his-friends) [ FIFA World Cup 2022](/stories/soccer/world-cup-2022-best-xi-who-were-the-tournaments-standout-performers) Benzema became the fifth French player to win the Ballon d'Or and the second-oldest winner of the award (34 years, 302 days old). He experienced a long exclusion from the national team from October 2015 until his recall by France manager Didier Deschamps in May 2021. Benzema made his senior debut for France in 2007, at age 19. I have written my story and ours is ending," Benzema wrote on his 35th birthday, in a post accompanied by a picture of him in a France jersey. He has moved up to second place on Madrid’s all-time scoring list with 329 goals. [Kylian Mbappé](https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/kylian-mbappe-2-player). [[Benzema reportedly declined an invite to the World Cup final]](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/karim-benzema-reportedly-declines-invite-to-attend-frances-world-cup-final)

Karim Benzema penned a statement that seemingly confirms his retirement from international duty with France after losing to Argentina.

A lot could change in four years, but Benzema, now 35, may have already kicked his last ball for the French national team. During that span, Benzema called out the French Football Federation, leading some to wonder whether that spelled doom for the Real Madrid star’s international career. He was left out of France’s tournament-winning side in 2018 due to his involvement in a major blackmail scandal, forcing his exile from the team for almost six years.