Karim Benzema last performed for France more than five years ago, but on Tuesday at the age of 33 and on trial for his role in a blackmail plot, he was recalled by surprise to the team of Provisional France for the European Championships.
The Real Madrid forward had not been selected since the sextape scandal involving his former international teammate Mathieu Valbuena erupted in 2015.
His hopes of a recall appeared to fade in January, when French prosecutors said they decided to send Benzema and four others to trial.
The case revolves around a plot to extort money from Valbuena by threatening to release a sex video.
Benzema made the last of his 81 appearances for France in a friendly against Armenia in October 2015, scoring twice to bring his international total to 27.
After that, France manager Didier Deschamps declined to pick the forward until he included Benzema on Tuesday.
Benzema missed France's race to the last Euros final in 2016, and missed French glory in the 2018 World Cup.
"As long as Didier Deschamps is a coach, I will have no chance of returning to the France team," Benzema said before the 2018 World Cup.
His Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, France's star Deschamps captain of the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, said in March he was baffled by the continued exile.
"How can you figure it out? I don't understand it, you don't understand it, there are a lot of people who don't understand it, ”Zidane said.
With UEFA allowing nations to nominate 26 players instead of the normal 23 for the Euro to relieve the pressure of potential Covid-19 cases, and Benzema in great shape for Real, Deschamps has changed his mind.
- 'Nothing surprises me at Karim' -
Benzema was seen as a future Galactico when he joined Real from Lyon in 2009. But for much of his time at the club he played a supporting role for Cristiano Ronaldo.
In Ronaldo's last season at Real, 2017-18, Benzema scored five La Liga goals. Once Ronaldo left for Juventus he scored 21 goals in each of the following two seasons.
This season he has 20 with one game to play, the third best total in La Liga, eight behind Lionel Messi and one behind Villarreal's Gerard Moreno.
Benzema, although much less eye-catching than Ronaldo, has once again shown this season that he is a big-game player.
When they returned from injury against Atletico Madrid in early March, Real were third, eight points behind their neighbors.
He scored an equalizer in the 88th minute, the start of a flurry of nine goals in seven La Liga appearances as Real moved closer to a point for Atletico.
Real enter the last round two points behind and a chance to win the title.
Benzema also scored an equalizer as Los Blancos recovered a home draw against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final.
“Nothing surprises me about Karim,” Zidane said after the match.
In the second leg, Chelsea faced Benzema's nemesis Olivier Giroud as he won 2-0.
Giroud, 34, was the main beneficiary of Benzema's absence, collecting 107 caps in France, 44 international goals and a World Cup winner's medal.
For a while, Benzema targeted Giroud on social media saying that if he was in Formula 1, Giroud was a 'go-kart'.
Yet in recent weeks the two have complimented each other and insisted there was no feud.
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