PARIS
\nKylian Mbapp\u00e9 helped France win the World Cup four years ago, becoming a superstar in the process. This time, the tournament could serve as a welcome escape from the pressures of Paris Saint-Germain, and also a chance to play in his favorite position.
\nFor Karim Benzema, it\u2019s an opportunity to showcase the talent that led him to winning the prestigious Ballon d\u2019Or at nearly 35 years old.
\nTheir paths to Qatar have greatly diverged.
\nWhen the 19-year-old Mbapp\u00e9 scored in the World Cup final four years ago, he was the youngest player since Pel\u00e9 in 1958 to score in the deciding match. Benzema was nowhere close to Moscow at the time because the Real Madrid forward was exiled from the national team.
\nAlthough they played together at last year\u2019s European Championship, Benzema was only just coming back with Les Bleus and things didn\u2019t quite click between them.
\nThey\u2019ve since shown how effective they are in tandem \u2014 sharing six goals in one World Cup qualifying win that France coach Didier Deschamps called \u201ca beautiful night of soccer.\u201d
\nBenzema is second all-time on Madrid\u2019s scoring list behind Cristiano Ronaldo with 329 goals.
\nMbapp\u00e9, expected to break Edinson Cavani\u2019s PSG record of 200 this season, already has 28 goals for France. Benzema has 37, with 10 in his past 16 internationals.
\nThey will form the most lethal attack in Qatar. Especially if Mbapp\u00e9 has the freedom he craves away from the frustration of playing center forward for PSG.
\nHe\u2019d much rather peel off a target man like Olivier Giroud, thereby using his pace and skill to attack from deep or wide.
\nAfter a 0-0 draw with Reims earlier this month, Mbapp\u00e9 took his frustrations online by posting a sarcastic-looking hashtag entitled #pivotgang on Instagram. A \u201cpivot\u201d is the French soccer term for a central striker who also operates as a link player with his back to goal, like Giroud does and Mbapp\u00e9 doesn\u2019t want to.
\nGiroud needs two goals to equal Thierry Henry\u2019s national record of 51. But Deschamps might prefer Antoine Griezmann, now that he\u2019s back in form with Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 helped France win the World Cup four years ago, becoming a superstar in the process. This time, the tournament could serve as a welcome escape from the pressures of Paris Saint-Germain, and also a chance to play in his favorite position. For Karim Benzema, it\u2019s an opportunity to showcase the talent that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-291709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n