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Karim Benzema has reignited one of the most compelling storylines of his career by revealing he remains fully open to representing France at the 2026 World Cup, despite a turbulent international history that has long suggested his time with Les Bleus is over. Didier Deschamps' men will be looking to regain the global crown in North America, spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe – and Benzema is willing to lend a helping hand to the cause.

• Benzema has played at just one World Cup

  Benzema has only featured at one World Cup, the 2014 edition in Brazil. He was ignored by Raymond Domenech in 2010 and 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. Despite never announcing an official retirement, his absence from the national team since then has led many to assume the door had quietly shut.

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  Door open to Les Bleus return

  Yet, speaking to , Benzema 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's Al-Ittihad future in doubt?

  While Benzema’s national-team fate is uncertain, his club future also hangs in the balance. The Frenchman swapped Madrid for Jeddah in the summer of 2023, embarking on an ambitious three-year project with Al-Ittihad. His impact has been immediate. Last season, he spearheaded the club to a domestic double of the Saudi Pro League title and the King's Cup, scoring 25 goals across all competitions and establishing himself as one of the defining figures of the Saudi Pro League’s global evolution. His numbers remain largely in line with the output of his final years at the Bernabeu. Yet his contract enters its final six months, and speculation over his next move has intensified.

  "I’m really focused on what I’m doing, whether it’s for these last six months or for after if I extend my contract," Benzema said. "Some people are better placed to talk about all that. Right now, I have six months left on my contract, so I’m completely focused on football."

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  A European return on the cards?

  Benzema had revealed that he still watches Real Madrid regularly, and the Champions League continues to stir a sense of wonder in him. That feeling makes it impossible to rule out any scenario, including a return to Europe. He even revealed that several European clubs have expressed interest. For him, what matters most is choosing a place where he can continue competing at the highest level and feel valued. 

  "The best thing for me is to continue here, but also not just stay for the sake of staying for a year or two," he told "I can't do that. I think the level of football in the Saudi league is getting better and better. I've been here for three years now, and it keeps getting better and better. It's true that I have offers from Europe. I have to look at everything, choose wisely, and see where I feel comfortable, without forgetting that I feel good here and receive affection from everyone. But we'll see. They ask me for things, and I give them things. Everything's fifty-fifty, but there are things happening. I'm not going to quit football and stop competing in six months."

Michael Slater was virtually unstoppable in the 1994-95 Ashes

03-Jan-2007

It was my first home Ashes series and I scored really consistently in a really great team. With three hundreds in five Tests I was stoked to back up what I did in England in ’93. To start with 176 in Brisbane was phenomenal. I was so excited and nervous. The first morning was electric and I was so pumped up.I hit a four first ball off Daffy DeFreitas – it was swinging away but I saw it swinging, it was a bit short and wide enough for a good cut shot – and hit another later in the over. All my nerves went into the shot. The four later in the over went over gully and was out of control. At that point the Australian crowd went beserk and I noticed a few of the England players’ body language changed. A couple of heads – not all of them – went down and you could see they were thinking “here we go again”. At Edgbaston in 2001 it was a bit of blur when I hit Gough for 16 in the first over, but I remember the fieldsmen behind me almost giggling at what was happening.In Brisbane it was a terrific day, although I’d put on nearly 100 with Mark Taylor when I ran him out. The rate wasn’t something I was thinking of much [his strike-rate was 72 and he hit 25 fours]. It was very productive but I was still disappointed I got out. I was trying to accelerate and instead of lofting Graham Gooch I hit him to mid-off. Caught Gatting bowled Gooch hasn’t happened very often. I soaked up the crowd as I raised my bat and all but one of my team-mates was really happy with me. ‘Tubby’ Taylor was furious: “What did you do that for? You could have got through the day but you went and committed Hari Kari.”I got 103 in the second innings of the third Test at Sydney, where the end of the match was weird and we hung on. Tubby and I decided we’d bat normally [the target was 449] and we made a good start. The nature of my innings was the longer I was there the more aggressive I’d become, and Tubby was playing a lot of pull shots so we had a lot of confidence. We really enjoyed batting together and whenever I walked out with him I felt very secure. Our midwicket conferences would start off very focussed at the start and then get more light-hearted as we went on.We focussed right through this partnership and set little targets and at 0 for 200 we thought we might be able to do it. Then I got out and Tubby got out and wickets started to fall quickly [Australia went from 1 for 208 to 7 for 292]. We had to clamp down and at the end Tim May thought it was time, but because of some rain there were more overs to be bowled. We were starting to cheer the draw, but they had to go back for two more overs. That game showed how hard it is chasing big totals. There’s the pressure and things shift quickly. It was a draw but it felt like a win.I felt the gods were on my side in Perth when I was dropped three times. Dev [Malcolm] was bowling like the wind but didn’t get a wicket in the first innings. Dev had a slingy action and was so unpredictable. A couple of spells in that match were the quickest I ever faced. He forced me to fend a ball and the edge went to Gooch and he dropped it while diving.

When I was in about my 60s I hit an easy caught and bowled but Dev dropped it. I didn’t know it at the time, but Dev was quite blind. Then I top-edged a ball and started to walk off because thought I was caught by Dev – he made a mess of it. I was assisted with my 124, but once you get going at Perth you’re hard to stop.I hadn’t thought too much about the Man-of-the-Series award until just before the presentation when one of the guys said I was a chance. With three 100s I thought I might be and there were two Toyota Ravs. The prize went to Craig McDermott [32 wickets with four five-fors] and he had been awesome throughout the series. He was a great spearhead.It was Gatting and Gooch’s last Test and we sat in the home dressing room for hours and hours. There were about eight blokes and sitting there talking with guys I had watched for years was amazing. I was 24 and my friends would never have believed what was happening. We were supposed to get inoculations for the West Indies trip that followed and I got in trouble for not being there to get the yellow fever one.Series in England always feel different, but for this home Ashes I was still riding the crest of a wave. I was going up and up rapidly and my memories are it was the time of my life. I was such a free spirit when batting – I felt the most free of my whole career. My defence was solid, my technique was good and I wasn’t yet in the phase when I became a bit looser. My batting was safe and I just loved it.

In the second CB Series final, Andrew Symonds taught a streaker a hard lesson. A selection of what people had to say about the incident

07-Mar-2008

“I’d definitely like to have a tackle like that on my resumé. And I don’t think that streaker will be running onto cricket grounds any more.”
“I reckon it was awesome. It’s the best hit I’ve seen for ages. We should sign him up.”
“He didn’t drive through properly. He didn’t finish the tackle off.”
“Would he have done the same if the streaker was a woman?”
“It was great actually … it was just like playing football.”
“I only saw it live and it looked like the guy was running at him, and Andrew to some extent tried to protect himself.”
“He [Symonds] was dealing with self-preservation, which we support 100 percent. Andrew was in the zone and was severely threatened.”
“It’d just be an absurdity if he was prosecuted for assault because he took firm but reasonable and proportionate action to deal with someone who was invading the pitch at a particularly difficult time of the match.”
“He could have done some injury to Andrew Symonds, because he seemed to run straight at him and all of a sudden he is on his back.”
“No. Wake up to yourself.”
“I’d just got out, so I was sooking. I haven’t seen it yet. There’s been a bit of talk and laughter around the dressing room, but I haven’t spoken to Symmo about it”
“The Indians are on to something with their Symonds obsession. The land of gurus and enlightenment know that we have a cricketer so neanderthal that he should sleep in a cage.”
Daily Telegraph’s

Allrounder Jimmy Neesham has been ruled out of the first Test against India in Kanpur due to a rib injury

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2016New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham has been ruled out of the first Test against India in Kanpur due to a rib injury. But since he is expected to be fit for the second Test, which begins on September 30, New Zealand Cricket have opted not to name any replacements.Neesham picked up the injury during training last Thursday, and it had affected his participation in the warm-up fixture against Mumbai in Delhi. He didn’t bat in either innings and bowled just five overs.Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, expected Neesham to return to full fitness ahead of the second Test in Kolkata. “Jimmy was struck in the nets and has been in discomfort the last few days,” he said. “It will take a few days for the bruising to go away, but it’s very much a short-term injury.”This comes as yet another setback for Neesham, who hasn’t played international cricket since the recurrence of a back injury last November. He is the second player from the squad in India to have fitness issues after Tim Southee had to return home with a ligament strain on his left ankle. Matt Henry was brought in. Squad for first Test: Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling.

Gio Reyna has his smile back, with the Borussia Dortmund star enjoying a “great night” at club level after a two-goal showing for the USMNT.

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• Injuries have held midfielder back
• Has rediscovered form and fitness
• Looking to add consistency to his game

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 20-year-old midfielder has endured a tough time with injury through his relatively short professional career to date, with enforced spells on the sidelines preventing him from making the desired impact with club and country.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  There is, however, no doubting Reyna’s ability when clear of fitness problems, and he has been reiterating that point of late. Having put any differences with national team boss Gregg Berhalter to one side, the talented youngster bagged a brace for the United States in their recent 4-0 victory over Ghana.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  He had to make do with a place on the bench when returning to domestic action in Germany, but an impressive 28-minute cameo for Dortmund saw him help his club side to a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen – leading to him enjoying a “great Friday night” with team-mate Donyell Malen.

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• WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Reyna has only seen 54 minutes of Bundesliga game time for Dortmund this season, after shaking off his latest knock, but he is enjoying his football again and will be hoping to add greater consistency to his game over the coming months as he steers clear of the treatment table.

The same South Africa squad that will play three T20Is against West Indies in March will travel to compete in the Women’s World T20 in India next month.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2016The same South Africa squad that will play three T20Is against West Indies in March will travel to compete in the Women’s World T20 in India next month.South Africa Women’s coach Hilton Moreeng said South Africa had picked their best squad for subcontinent conditions, and believed the side’s experience gave them a good chance at making the knockouts.”It’s a well-balanced squad with lots of experience and a bit of youth. We’ve given ourselves the best chance to play well and compete, as well as to qualify for the knockout phase,” Moreeng said. “The fact that our first three series in the Women’s Championship were in the subcontinent has helped us a lot in terms of getting players used to those kinds of conditions and pitches. Eighty percent of the squad going to the World T20 has been exposed to subcontinent conditions, especially India, so there won’t be too many players who will be experiencing the conditions for the first time.”South Africa are in Group A along with Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Sri Lanka, and will kick off their campaign on March 18 against Australia in Nagpur.Squad Mignon du Preez (capt), Trisha Chetty (wk), Odine Kirsten, Moseline Daniels, Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk, Dinesha Devnarain, Chloe Tryon, Sune Luus, Shabnim Ismail, Masabatha Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka, Marcia Letsoalo, Lizelle Lee, Yolani Fourie

Winning a second FIFA Best Women’s Player award is no priority for Lucy Bronze, with the England international focused on collective glory.

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• Best player on the planet in 2020
• European Championship winner
• Determined to land World Cup

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Euro 2022 winner earned the honour of being named best player on the planet back in 2020. She finished as runner-up in the Ballon d’Or Feminin vote a few months prior to that and has continued to star for club and country in the years since.

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  WHAT BRONZE SAID

  Bronze is now on the books of Barcelona, having bid farewell to the WSL, and graced the Women’s World Cup final in 2023. She sits among the global elite, but has told FIFA’s official website of placing little emphasis on individual recognition: “I think everyone has an ambition to be the best player in the world. But right now I just want to be the best player that I can be. I'm very fortunate that ‘the best player I can be’ was at that level (of The Best), and that gets a little bit more difficult when you're carrying more injuries and things like that. For me, I just want to keep producing for my club and for England, and to keep winning things. Recognition is fantastic. But I would trade every single one of those individual awards, as lovely as they are, for a World Cup.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Bronze was named in the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 for 2023, making that selection for the sixth time, and added on earning recognition from her peers: “The awards that are voted for by players you play with, or you play against, always feel the best. I think players have a different point of view to fans or media, or even to managers. You come off the pitch and you think, ‘That was a tough game. She's hard to play against.’ Or you say to the other girls: ‘How good was she today?’ They’re the conversations we have as players, and it’s great to think that you’ve maybe been talked about that way in other dressing rooms. That’s what makes this such a special accolade for me.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BRONZE?

  Helping to put England in contention for more major honours will keep Bronze at the very top of the game, while domestic and continental trophies are expected to fall within reach while forming part of the star-studded Barcelona squad that continues to sweep aside all before it.

India’s latest collapse at St George’s Park was the seventh time they were bowled out in 16 matches since the tour of West Indies in May

George Binoy29-Nov-2006

India’s batsmen are struggling. And it’s been that way for months now. The latest collapse at St George’s Park was the seventh time they have been bowled out in 16 matches since the tour of West Indies in May. In their last eight matches India have been scuttled on five occasions.Scratch the surface and you’ll unearth more dismal facts. On the tour of South Africa so far, India’s tenth wicket has fallen as early as the 30th, 42nd, and 39thover. In the recent tri-series in Malaysia, Australia routed India for 195 after 43.5 overs and West Indies dismissed them for 162 off 39.3 overs . Another debacle was on the cards had rain not intervened after Mitchell Johnson reduced India to 35 for 5 by the eighth over of the first match against Australia in the DLF Cup.Being dismissed in seven out of 16 ODIs is dire but the remaining matches aren’t a pretty picture either. In four out of the other nine matches, India had scores of 245 for 9, 217 for 7, 223 for 9 and 249 for 8 after 50 overs, and in their Champions Trophy match against England, they lost six wickets while chasing a meagre 126.At the moment India don’t have a single batsman in form. They just haven’t been spending enough time at the crease and sizable partnerships have been few and far between. Cricinfo analysed the differences between India’s golden run during the 2005-06 season and their woeful slump since the tour of West Indies up to the Champions Trophy. Their travails in South Africa are merely an extension of the same. The blame lies largely with the batsmen.

Jamie Overton took three wickets before the close after half-centuries from Mark Stoneman, Keaton Jennings and Nick Gubbins had set the Lions up for a declaration

ECB Reporters Network23-Jun-2017
Scorecard Mark Stoneman top scored with 86•Getty Images

Three of the contenders for a possible Test call-up – Keaton Jennings, Mark Stoneman and Nick Gubbins – all made half-centuries as England Lions pressed for victory against South Africa A in the tour match at Canterbury.Skipper Jennings and former Durham team-mate Stoneman passed 50 for the second time in the match before Middlesex’s Gubbins sped the Lions toward a declaration with 63 off 65 balls.England pulled out on 308 for 5 after scoring at nearly five an over on a slow pitch, leaving South Africa A with a target of 412 but they lost four wickets before the close, three of them to Somerset’s Jamie Overton in successive overs.Openers Adrian Markram and Heino Kuhn had put on 164 in the first innings but were parted with 8 on the board this time around when Essex’s Jamie Porter defeated Markram’s tentative defensive push. Overton then had Kuhn and Khaya Zondo caught behind and Theunis de Bruyn smartly held at fourth slip as South Africa A limped to 29 for 4 at stumps.A fortnight after he made his career-best 197 for Surrey in the Specsavers County Championship, Stoneman continued his impressive form with 86. He was dropped on 20 and 33 but the left-hander played confidently on both sides of the wicket with 15 fours and a six off offspinner Dane Piedt.Stoneman and Jennings came together after Haseeb Hameed had been dismissed cheaply for the second time in the match when he was squared up by Beuran Hendricks. The second-wicket pair put on 145 in 35 overs and Stoneman appeared to be cruising towards his fourth hundred of the season when he played on to Duanne Olivier after facing 129 balls in 163 minutes.Having hit nine fours in 122 balls, Jennings, one of only three players in this week’s squad who are in the party for the Lions game against South Africa next week, fell for 71 to a smart slip catch cutting against the spin of Piedt before left-hander Gubbins began England’s acceleration after tea.After Dan Lawrence had been caught behind off Hendricks, Gubbins and Ben Foakes, who made an unbeaten 127 in the first innings, added 69 in 7.4 overs with Foakes employing the slog-sweep against Piedt to good effect, twice clearing the midwicket boundary in the same over.Gubbins wasn’t afraid to employ the long handle either, depositing Hendricks over long-on for six. Foakes drove to cover after making 34 from 27 balls and England declared when Gubbins, who struck eight fours and a six, was out in similar fashion.Earlier, South Africa A had been bowled out for 283 – a deficit of 103 – in their first innings after their last three wickets added 46.

Real Madrid are set to send Kylian Mbappe a final offer in January in an attempt to sign the Frenchman on a free transfer in the summer of 2024.

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• Madrid still pursuing Mbappe
• Will send a final offer in January
• Want the player to sign a pre-contract before summer arrival

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  As another transfer window looms in the horizon, the Real Madrid-Mbappe saga has once again sprung to life. And this time, it is believed to be in its final act – now or never. According to Spanish outletLos Blancos will present an offer to the 2018 World Cup winner in the first part of 2024, allowing Mbappe to join the team as a free agent after finishing the season with Paris Saint-Germain.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Until January, FIFA regulations prohibit negotiations with a contracted player. This led Real Madrid to deny any approach being made to the player in November. With the new year, the situation will change as Mbappe will be in the final six months of his contract at PSG and the club aims to make a final attempt at signing the star player, to put an end to their pursuit that has spanned over five years.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Real Madrid did try to undertake the Mbappe operation in the summer of 2023 but financial constraints prevented them from manoeuvring. With patience, the club believes the pieces are in place for a successful transfer. Although there is an air of controlled optimism in the offices of the Bernabeu, they have learnt from past mistakes and are unwilling to play the waiting game anymore. They have an offer in place and will not go all out for the player as they are convinced with the firepower in the squad and that of Endrick who will arrive at the Madrid giants from Brazil's Palmeiras in 2024.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID & MBAPPE?

  Real Madrid are reportedly willing to pay €35 million net per season to Mbappe. They also have one eye on Erling Haaland as they boast of a £342m ($429m) transfer war chest in the summer of 2024.