

It's not like France actually needs a player like Karim Benzema on their team to secure the European Championship this summer as hosts, but given the amazing form he is at right now, it wouldn't hurt to have him on the team. The scandal that left him out of Didier Deschamps list is truly embarrassing, but for Gignac, France will miss Benzema as much as Valbuena and Mamadou Sakho. All those players will miss out on the chance to win a trophy in their country.
Talking to the press after a morning session with the French national team, Gignac said: "Obviously, when you know how important these three players were for the national team... Mamadou, Karim and Mathieu. Mathieu is one of the players who was playing the most during the Deschamps era, he scored crucial goals. Karim, we all know how big a talent he is. In my opinion, I told him many times, he's the best number nine in the world along with Luis Suarez. Mamadou helped us qualify for the World Cup with his crazy double.
"They're three important men, but the squad is big, and with all these young players, Paul [Pogba], Antoine [Griezmann], [Kingsley] Coman - I think that this mix between experience and youth is quite good. So I think we have the assets to go far. When a team is playing at home, they want to win it. We know it's going to be tough because everybody will want to take down the French team. They'll be waiting for us but we'll be waiting for them as well."
Photo credit: Equipe de France