{"id":2817,"date":"2025-12-24T10:31:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T10:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/?p=2817"},"modified":"2025-12-24T10:31:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T10:31:52","slug":"benzemas-last-dance-the-ballon-dor-winner-opens-the-door-to-a-world-cup-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/benzemas-last-dance-the-ballon-dor-winner-opens-the-door-to-a-world-cup-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Benzema\u2019s Last Dance? The Ballon d&#8217;Or Winner Opens the Door to a World Cup Return"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"model-response-message-contentr_8995a5dcb361226f\" class=\"markdown markdown-main-panel enable-updated-hr-color\" dir=\"ltr\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-busy=\"false\">\n<p data-path-to-node=\"3\">Karim Benzema\u2019s departure from the French national team on the eve of Qatar 2022 remains one of modern football\u2019s most lingering &#8220;what-ifs.&#8221; Officially sidelined by a muscle injury, the 2022 Ballon d\u2019Or winner has lived in international exile ever since.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"4\">While a social media post in December 2022 appeared to signal a final, frosty goodbye to <i data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"89\">Les Bleus<\/i>, the narrative has shifted. In an expansive interview with <i data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"158\">L\u2019Equipe<\/i>, Benzema clarified that he has never truly closed the door on his country.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"4\">With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, the striker seems ready to trade his retirement for one last shot at the global stage.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"fr\">Le Ballon d\u2019Or 2022 f\u00eate ses 38 ans aujourd\u2019hui \ud83c\udf82\ud83e\udd73<\/p>\n<p>Joyeux anniversaire Karim <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Benzema?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Benzema<\/a> \ud83d\ude4c <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kPl0t4XYf4\">pic.twitter.com\/kPl0t4XYf4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Equipe de France \u2b50\u2b50 (@equipedefrance) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/equipedefrance\/status\/2001942273135968758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"5\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">&#8220;I Would Be a Liar&#8221;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">Despite the friction that has defined his relationship with manager Didier Deschamps, Benzema\u2019s stance is now one of pragmatism and professional desire.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">&#8220;Who doesn\u2019t want to play in a World Cup?&#8221; Benzema asked rhetorically. &#8220;Everyone wants to play in this competition. As someone who loves football and competition, if you asked me to play for France in a World Cup and I said no, I would be a liar.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">For a man with 97 caps, the lure of the tricolor jersey remains undimmed by past grievances. Benzema appeared to extend an olive branch\u2014or perhaps a challenge\u2014to the French coaching staff, insisting that his focus remains purely on the pitch.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">&#8220;When someone calls me, I come. I play,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I have goals. I love winning and I love trophies. That is what matters most. Right now, I am with my club, but if the national team calls, I am there to play football. It stops there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9CY9arRzHjQ?si=134ldCRJ4pAhGDQI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"10\"><b data-path-to-node=\"10\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The Road to 2026<\/b><\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11\">France has already secured their place for the 2026 tournament, drawn into Group I alongside Senegal, Norway, and a playoff winner. Whether there is room for a 38-year-old Benzema in a squad brimming with young attacking talent remains the definitive question for Deschamps.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12\">For now, Benzema\u2019s reality is the Saudi Pro League. His immediate focus shifts to Sunday, December 28, as <b data-path-to-node=\"12\" data-index-in-node=\"106\">Al Ittihad host Al Shabab<\/b>. It is a must-win fixture for Benzema\u2019s side; currently languishing in 7th place and trailing leaders Al Nassr by 13 points, Al Ittihad\u2019s title hopes are fading fast.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"13\">The match will be available to stream live on <b data-path-to-node=\"13\" data-index-in-node=\"46\">SPOTV NOW<\/b>, where fans can see for themselves if the veteran striker still possesses the clinical edge required for one final international comeback.<b data-path-to-node=\"15\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Karim Benzema\u2019s departure from the French national team on the eve of Qatar 2022 remains one of modern football\u2019s most lingering &#8220;what-ifs.&#8221; Officially sidelined by a muscle injury, the 2022 Ballon d\u2019Or winner has lived in international exile ever since. While a social media post in December 2022 appeared to signal a final, frosty goodbye &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/benzemas-last-dance-the-ballon-dor-winner-opens-the-door-to-a-world-cup-return\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Benzema\u2019s Last Dance? The Ballon d&#8217;Or Winner Opens the Door to a World Cup Return<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,17,5],"tags":[127],"class_list":["post-2817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-popular","category-top-stories","tag-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2817"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2820,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2817\/revisions\/2820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}