Fans think some France players will be very happy Karim Benzema has retired

Fans think they've spotted two France stars who won't be too gutted Karim Benzema won't be meeting up with the national team again.

Benzema was supposed to be part of the France team at the World Cup, but had to pull on the eve of the tournament starting, due to an injury.

It was a huge blow to the Real Madrid striker, who missed five years out of the international set up, in part due to legal issues, but returned last year for the Euros.

With Didier Deschamps deciding against picking a replacement for the Ballon d'Or holder, there was talk he could have joined the team for the final last weekend.

That didn't happen and he won't be meeting up with them again, having announced his international retirement, and fans now think that former teammates Hugo Lloris and Antoine Griezmann will be quite happy with that.

In a video from Benzema's return last summer, the goalkeeper and forward don't appear too pleased to welcome the striker back, as you can see below.

Despite the obvious brilliance of Benzema, France's results have arguably been better without the man who led Real to the Champions League title earlier this year.

Olivier Giroud has flourished without his fellow striker, overtaking Thierry Henry to become the country's all time top scorer in international football.

The AC Milan striker has also received plenty of compliments for his ability to bring the wider forwards into the game more.

That has certainly allowed Kylian Mbappe to flourish, especially in this World Cup, as he topped the scoring charts and won the Golden Boot.

His pair of goals in 95 seconds turned the game around and he was the first player in the men's World Cup final to score a hat-trick since 1966, and the only one to subsequently lose the match.

Without Benzema, Les Bleus have won the World Cup in Russia and reached the final in Qatar, whereas they could only make the last 16 at the Euros with him, losing to Switzerland on penalties.

Benzema's return to the France set-up lasted just 18 months. Image: Alamy

Whilst Benzema decided to call it a day in the national shirt, Lionel Messi shocked everyone by revealing he'll be sticking around.

The 35-year-old was expected to call time on his international career, not for the first time, no matter what the result of the final was.

However, speaking in an interview after the penalty shoot-out, the Paris Saint-Germain star said, "No, I’m not going to retire from the national team.

"I want to keep playing as World Cup champions in the Argentina shirt."

It's still unlikely that he'll make it to the next edition of the tournament, due to be held in North America in 2026, as he'll be 39 by then.

Perhaps he'll make it to the next Copa America championships in 2024, where Argentina will be defending their title.