Former Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema is not ruling out his chances of featuring at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the France National Team despite his turbulent international history.
France will be looking to regain the global crown in North America spearheaded by the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, and Benzema is willing to lend a helping hand to the cause.
Despite enjoying huge success at club level, Benzema’s international career is mixed with controversies. He has featured at one World Cup, the 2014 edition in Brazil and was ignored by Raymond Domenech in 2010.
Benzema remained in exile during France’s triumphant 2018 campaign as the fallout from the Mathieu Valbuena sex tape scandal left him out in the cold. When he was finally recalled in 2021 under Deschamps, the return was short-lived.
He travelled to Qatar in 2022 but suffered an injury during his very first training session. Subsequently, he left the camp in circumstances that raised eyebrows.
Benzema has been out of the team since then and despite not announcing an official retirement, many assume he has shut the door.
Karim Benzema celebrates after winning the Saudi King’s Cup match between Al Ittihad and Al Shabab at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
However, Benzema while speaking to L’Equipe made it clear that the notion of him turning down France is simply not true and insisted that football decisions should be governed by purpose rather than politics.
“I’m a football player. So, I play football. When they call me, I come, I play,” he said. “I have goals in my head. I love football and I love winning. I like trophies. That’s what matters most to me. There, I am in my club. If I am called to the national team, I come to play football. And it stops there.”
Despite everything that has happened, the idea of refusing a World Cup return holds no truth for him.
“It’s not a story of no longer wanting to come back to the French team,” he said. “But we have to ask ourselves the question: what am I coming to do with the French team? We are talking about a World Cup. Obviously, these are not things where you have to say: ‘No, I don’t want to.’ Because it’s a lie to say: ‘No, I don’t want to play in a World Cup’.”
Benzema swapped Madrid for Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023, embarking on an ambitious three-year project with Al-Ittihad.
His influence at the club saw them win a domestic double of the Saudi Pro League title and the King’s Cup last season, the Frenchman scored 25 goals across all competitions.
