Karim Benzema has set his sights on winning Euro 2020 with France after being left "a little shocked" by his recall to the national side.
Real Madrid striker Benzema was last week named in France's squad for their upcoming European Championship campaign following an absence of nearly six years.
He had been frozen out by Didier Deschamps since 2015 after becoming embroiled in a blackmail scandal involving international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.
The 33-year-old has denied the claims and is due to stand trial on the charge of complicity in attempted blackmail in October.
Benzema's recall comes on the back of a campaign in which he scored 30 goals for Madrid in all competitions, 23 of those in LaLiga – behind only Barcelona's Lionel Messi (30).
However, the prolific attacker's return to Les Bleus' setup came as a surprise, even after holding face-to-face talks with Deschamps prior to the squad being announced.
"It was a special day," he told L'Equipe. "I received a lot of messages, there were rumours. I was waiting like everyone else, in front of the TV. I was really happy.
"It happened really fast, it was a feeling of joy and pride. I remembered all the moments when I never gave up. It was a little shock, it's been a long time!"
Benzema accused Deschamps of "bowing to the pressure of a racist part of France" after he lost his place in the side, but the pair quickly buried the hatchet.
"Deschamps didn't tell me. We talked a lot, it was a long conversation, but he never said to me: 'You'll be at the Euros'," Benzema said.
"The only thing he said was that we'd taken a big step together and that we'd see.
"We were face-to-face. We hadn't seen each other since 2015. It was good to talk, I've always gotten on well with him, after three minutes everything was back to normal."
Benzema won the most recent of his 81 caps for France against Armenia in October 2015, scoring twice in that 4-0 friendly victory to take his Les Bleus goal tally to 27.
He was absent for France's World Cup triumph in 2018 and is now eager to make up for lost time by firing his country to success at the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, which begins next month.
"I want to win a trophy with the France team," he said. "Anyone can say: 'It's a dream to win the Euros'.
"But the question is how to win it? And I answer that with the squad that we have, we can win it."
France begin their Group F campaign with a meeting against Germany in Munich on June 15, before facing Hungary and reigning champions Portugal.
Deschamps can also call upon the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud in attack, the latter of whom Benzema previously fell out with.
Benzema suggested last year that Giroud's talent pales in comparison to his own, but the Madrid striker insists he has no problems with his international colleague.
"Olivier, I saw him during the Chelsea match. We spoke, it was relaxed. He congratulated me for my goal," he said.
"It was good vibes, it was cool. I have already played with him, it will be the same as before."
Havertz out of Germany squad with knee injury
Kai Havertz has pulled out of Germany's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches due to a knee injury.
The Arsenal forward played a full 90 minutes in their comeback win over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, netting their first goal.
He became the first player to score in seven consecutive home appearances for the Gunners in all competitions since Robin van Persie between December 2011 and March 2012 (also a run of seven).
Havertz has made a stellar start to the campaign, netting six goals in all competitions so far, also getting one assist.
However, he will not be available to face Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to his injury, and it is not yet clear if it will keep him sidelined for Arsenal after the international break.
"Kai Havertz will miss the upcoming international matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to knee problems," Germany announced on X.
"National team coach Julian Nagelsmann has nominated Jonathan Burkardt in Havertz's place. Get well soon Kai."
Liverpool edge Tottenham in thriller as injury-hit Everton hold Arsenal
Arsenal missed the chance to keep pace with Women's Super League leaders Manchester City on Sunday, but Liverpool grabbed the standout result.
Liverpool edged Tottenham 3-2 thanks to Marie-Therese Hobinger's last-gasp penalty.
Having netted her first goal of the season in the 75th minute, Hobinger doubled up to win it for the Reds deep in stoppage time.
Ashleigh Neville fouled Sophie Roman Haug, and Hobinger made no mistake to seal Liverpool's first win of the season.
Neville had turned provider for Tottenham's second equaliser of the game at Gaughan Group Stadium, when she crossed for Clare Hunt to score in the 83rd minute.
Liverpool took the lead early on through Cornelia Kapocs, before Taylor Hinds' own goal handed Spurs a leveller.
The Reds' Merseyside rivals Everton, meanwhile, frustrated Arsenal by holding the Gunners to a 0-0 draw.
Everton have been hit by serious knee injuries to Inma Gabarro and Aurora Galli this season, but the Toffees showed plenty of resilience to pick up their first point of the campaign at Emirates Stadium.
Emily Fox went closest for Arsenal when she hit the post early in the first half, but in spite of having 21 shots, the Gunners accumulated only 0.74 expected goals (xG).
Annabel Blanchard, meanwhile, netted twice to propel Crystal Palace to their first victory of the season, as they beat Leicester City 2-0.
Earlier in the day, Man City defeated West Ham 2-0.
Emery: Villa 'missed some energy' in Man Utd stalemate
Unai Emery believes Aston Villa "missed some energy" during their goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The spoils were shared following an underwhelming 90 minutes at Villa Park, where the hosts recorded their second stalemate in as many Premier League games after last weekend's 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town.
Villa were aiming to build on their memorable Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday but only registered a single shot on target courtesy of Youri Tielemans' second-half attempt.
And Emery believes his side's midweek exploits in Europe took their toll on Sunday.
"It is not the best result, but it's not the worst," the Villa boss said. "I think a draw is fair.
"We played the second half much better than the first and, at the end, we were close to winning the match [when Diogo Dalot blocked Jaden Philogene's stoppage-time shot]. We tried to score, but couldn't.
"We missed some energy. Maybe it's because we have some players injured, some other players are also still improving."
It was the first 0-0 draw Villa have played out under Emery at Villa Park since he took over in November 2022. Although they could not achieve the three points, they remain fifth in the Premier League table with 14 points after their opening seven games.
After opening their Champions League campaign with successive wins, and a Carabao Cup last-16 clash with Crystal Palace coming up later this month, Emery is pleased with the shape his side are in.
"We are in the process of building a team," he added. "We are managing things better. I am happy. We could be higher in the table, but we are more or less in the top six. I am happy with what we are doing.
"We are happy in the Champions League and happy, of course, in the Carabao Cup. We're going to play seven matches in the next month. We have to stay competitive like we are now and be demanding."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
