Karim Benzema

Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Spanish club Real Madrid and the France national team. He has been described as an "immensely talented striker" who is "strong and powerful" and "a potent finisher from inside the box".

Benzema made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a friendly match against Austria, scoring in a 1–0 win. Benzema has earned over 80 caps and represented France at three major international tournaments: the 2008 and 2012 editions of the UEFA European Football Championship and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, Benzema has been left out of major tournament squads on three occasions: 2010 World Cup due to lack of playing time with Real Madrid, Euro 2016 after a publicised scandal involving blackmail, and 2018 World Cup for alleged tactical reasons.

On 20 September 2017, Benzema signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2021. Later on 6 March of the following year, Benzema made his 100th UEFA Champions League appearance by playing in the 2–1 win at Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of 2017–18 UEFA Champions League round of 16 as Real Madrid progressed to the next round 5–2 on aggregate. Benzema played his 400th match in all competitions for Real Madrid on 31 March in the 3–0 win at Las Palmas, captaining the team and netting the second goal with a penalty.

On 26 May 2018, Benzema scored the first goal of the match in 2018 UEFA Champions League Final by intercepting Loris Karius's throw in a 3–1 victory over Liverpool, when Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall Champions League title.

He has also been praised for his work-rate and tactical intelligence off the ball, as well as his positional sense and attacking movement as a forward, which often draws opposition defenders out of position, and in turn creates spaces for Cristiano Ronaldo to make attacking runs into the centre of the area from the left wing.