On Thursday, European heavyweights France will host South American giants Brazil in one of the highlight fixtures of the international break. The two sides will lock horns in a friendly at the Stade de France, a game which will see an array of attacking talents at hand for the fans across the globe to enjoy.
Brazil boast the likes of Neymar, Oscar, and Philippe Coutinho. Les Blues, undefeated since their 2014 World Cup loss to Germany, have the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Alexandre Lacazette, and Olivier Giroud at their disposal.
However, Didier Deschamps' greatest asset comes in the form of Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema. The 27-year-old, one of La Liga's most feared strikers, is the most capped player in the French squad, with 77 appearances, 65 less than Lilian Thuram's record of 142 caps.
The former Lyon ace is not the most prolific of strikers. With 25 goals to his name for his national side, Benzema is far off the all-time goal scoring record of 51 goals, held by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.
In the Blancos star's international career, spanning just over eight years, he is yet to register a hat-trick for France. Despite all this, one could easily argue that the stats fail to paint an accurate picture of Karim's contribution to his nation.
France have never tasted defeat whenever Benzema scores. This is quite an impressive feat in modern day football where holding onto a lead proves more and more difficult.
And although Benzema doesn't score thrice in a single game, he has a nag of grabbing the winning goal in tightly-contested fixtures. Rewind four years to January 2011 and it was he who scored the only goal in a win over Thursday's opponents, the Selecao.
This is nothing out of the blue for a man who began his senior international career with a bang. The striker, who made his debut on 28 March 2007, scored the winning goal in the 53rd minute against Austria.
In his first ever World Cup finals, the 2014 tournament held in Brazil last summer, Benzema notched in three goals en route to a quarter-finals finish.
One drawback to his career, though, is that in two Euro championships, he is yet to lodge in a single goal. The Frenchman, however, can make amends when his country host the competition in 2016.
Brazil's defense will be tasked with keeping France's Benzema-lead attack quiet. Despite heading into the friendly on the back of a series of wins, Karim remains adamant that there are no favorites for the clash.
"They are a great team no matter what" he stated.
"After the World Cup, Brazil have recovered. They have been scoring freely and have not conceded much. There is no favourite for this game."
*Stats via UEFA.com
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