Zinedine Zidane has said he doesn’t understand why Karim Benzema isn’t playing for France after the forward scored two goals and an assist in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Celta Vigo in their last La Liga game before the international break.
Benzema scored his first after 20 minutes at Balaidos, and another 10 minutes later – both from Toni Kroos’ passes – when Madrid moved to second place for Barcelona and within three points of leader Atletico Madrid.
Ratings: Benzema 9/10 while Ream Madrid beat Celta Vigo
The brace means that Benzema – who has not been called up by French coach Didier Deschamps since 2015 – has scored 17 league goals this season, scoring eight in his last six games in all competitions.
“You don’t understand, I don’t understand, there are a lot of people who don’t understand,” said Zidane, when asked about Deschamps’ refusal to appeal to Benzema. “For me as a Real Madrid coach it is better for him to stay with us, that’s for sure. What he did today with his teammates was spectacular. He works hard and wants more.”
Benzema’s exclusion from the French national team in 2015 stemmed from his alleged involvement – for which he is on trial – in a conspiracy to blackmail former international teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
The French Football Association’s initial decision to suspend Benzema was followed by Deschamps leaving Benzema out of their 2016 European Championship squad.
The attacker responded by claiming that Deschamps “had succumbed to the pressure of a racist part of France” by omitting him.
“As long as Deschamps is national coach, I have no chance of coming back,” Benzema said in 2017.
While Benzema stays in Madrid next week, teammates Raphael Varane and Ferland Mendy will join France – while Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Thibaut Courtois have also been called up by their countries.
“We know the calendar, there are a lot of games, but we keep going because now the players are doing well,” said Zidane when asked about the busy match list.[Modric and Kroos] will leave with their national teams and they will play matches, for me as a Real Madrid coach that is not ideal, but we cannot do anything about it. “
Zidane also confirmed that Ramos should be fit for Spain, despite missing Real Madrid’s Vigo victory with a knock.