France are on the verge of a succe sful title defence at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a run which is all the more impre sive because of the players they are mi sing.Potentially key figures including Mike Maignan, Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante were ruled out before the reigning champions lost the current Ballon d'Or winner in Karim Benzema.The 34-year-old is a game-changing goalscorer with the ability to turn the tightest of matches, yet France have managed to average more than two goals a game in the knockout stages despite being bereft DeShawn Williams Jersey of Benzema.Here's why Benzema is mi sing and his chances of collecting a gold medal if France complete the job against Argentina.MORE: Benzema was named in France's final 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup but was withdrawn from it just days before the tournament began.The Real Madrid hitman has since been recuperating and has returned to training at the Champions League holders' training base this week. The forward injured hisleft quadriceps during training and scans the following day saw his journey in Qatar end before it even began.The scorer of 37 senior international goals wasn't included in the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup and based on his age, it's unlikely he'll feature at the next tournament.This year had been an otherwise brilliant one for Benzema, with the forward winning the 2022 Ballon d'Or as a John Brown Jersey result of his fine form that inspired Real Madrid to win La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.De ma vie je nai jamais abandonn mais ce soir il faut que je pense lquipe comme je lai toujours fait alors la raison me dit de lai ser ma place quelquun qui pourra aider notre groupe faire une belle Coupe du Monde. Merci pour tous vos me sages de soutien Karim Benzema (@Benzema) Benzema would have to make the journey from Madrid to Qatar to join the France squad if he is to play a part at the last in his country's campaign.Bleus head coach Didier Deschamps politely refused to answer when he was questioned about the prospect of one of his star players returning to action on Sunday.Respected French journalist Julien Laurens told TalkSport that there was no chance of Benzema being back for the game because he will not be fit enough and it would be unfair on other forwards in the squad. The timing of Benzema's injury meant France could have replaced him on their World Cup squad but decided against doing so.Deschamps had already brought in two players in the form ofAxel Disasi andRandal Kolo Muani as injury replacements.MORE:The fact Benzema was never Drew Lock T Shirts replaced in the squad means he could still receive a winners' medal, should France manage to lift the trophy again. It is a glorious piece of gold or a memento of a near-mi s for players after the FIFA World Cup final, but the medals from the most prestigious tournament in football symbolise the achievements of athletes who have reached the pinnacle of the game.When the action from 64 matches comes to a close with the decider in Doha, millions around the world will watch players pick up the newest collection of keepsakes from a tournament like no other in Qatar.Each player who is named in the winning squad will receive a gold medal, meaning Benzema would indeed be allocated one if France triumph because he has not been replaced in the squad.As much as Benzema will have felt frustration at not being involved, that will be some consolation if his teammates beat Argentina in his absence and cap a superb calendar year for him.MORE:Benzema's medal will also serve as recognition of the three goals he scored in France's qualification path to the finals.Players representing the runners-up receive silver medals, with the team winning the third place playoff given bronze medals and all the members of other squads at the tournament receiving medals recognising their participation at the finals. The World Cup is one of the few trophies Benzema has not won during an exceptional career in which he has lifted the Champions League five times and the French and Spanish top-flight titles four times each.Benzema won the U17 EURO in 2004 and made his senior debut in March 2007 with the only goal of a game against Austria.His greatest achievement with France has been the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League title, which he won after his period in international exile.In 2015, Benzema was accused of putting pre sure on former France midfielder Javonte Williams Jersey Mathieu Valbuenato pay a blackmailer who had threatened to release a sex tape showing Valbuena.Manuel Valls, the French prime minister at the time, said Benzema should not have been in the national team, and he was subsequently banned from the squad at the end of that year.Deschamps excluded Benzema from his selection from EURO 2016, andFrench Football Federation president Noel Le Great a serted in 2019 that Benzema's "adventure" with France had finished."I never said that Karim was not eligible for France," Deschamps said when Benzema returned in May 2021. "We can't go back in time. The most important is that we saw each other. I needed it, and he did too."In my head, I made the decision a while ago. There were many discu sions, weighing the pros and cons. It was done very discreetly, but it was only between Karim and I.Benzema was convicted of complicity to blackmail Tom Jackson Jersey in the case at the end of 2021, receiving a one-year suspended prison sentence, a fine and a compensation order to Valbuena.When he decided not to appeal in June 2022, Benzemas lawyer, Hugues Vigier, told L'Equipe (via ): "Karim Benzema will always proclaim his innocence in this case and he never wanted to take part in a blackmail operation against Mathieu Valbuena.