At 8:15 p.m. this Friday evening, the Stade de France public, which usually arrives late in its entirety, will be able to cheer on certain world champions, now retired from the life of the Blues.
Hugo Lloris, record holder of selections (145) but also of captaincies (121), will be accompanied by his usual vice-captain, Raphaël Varane, but also by Steve Mandanda and Blaise Matuidi, absent in Qatar and permanently retired from the field.
A man, also invited by the FFF, on an idea of Didier Deschamps and his staff, will not be there: Karim Benzema.
To discover
The complete calendar of the Blues
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Euro 2024: dates, place, draw
If the official reason has not filtered through, the absence of the Ballon d'Or 2022 will be noticed in Saint-Denis, and will only add tension to the relationship he has with his coach.
If we can still talk about a relationship, as the ties between the two men now seem broken since the departure of Benzema, injured, before the start of the World Cup in Qatar.
"
It's not me who manages the invitations
", swept Didier Deschamps, not very comfortable on the subject, last Monday at Clairefontaine.
After calling his coach a "clown" and a "liar", Karim Benzema, who was not world champion, hinted that he would give his version of the facts.
A speech necessarily observed by the entourage of the France team.
Didier Deschamps and Karim Benzema KAI PFAFFENBACH
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Still, the Stade de France, in addition to celebrating the retirement of the heroes of 2018, as was the case for Didier Deschamps, Laurent Blanc and Bernard Lama in September 2000 at the end of the World Cup-Euro double, will have the opportunity to pay tribute to the memory of Juste Fontaine and Claude Simonet, who recently passed away.
The record holder for goals in a single World Cup final phase (13 units), former coach of the Blues, and former president of the FFF between 1994 and 2005, will receive a tribute to Saint-Denis just before kick-off of France-Netherlands.
