Deschamps: Benzema does for France what he's done for Real Madrid

Karim Benzema has been at the peak of his powers in the last few seasons at Real Madrid, and France boss Didier Deschamps is delighted to be working with the forward since recalling him to the Les Bleus setup.

Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, Benzema has stepped up and improved his goalscoring figures, as well as doing all of the other work that he had done to help the team while the Portuguese was in the capital.

"Karim is essential," Deschamps said after France beat Spain to win the Nations League on Sunday. "He has real quality, and he's continuing to do what he does for Real Madrid with us.

"He wants to succeed and I'm happy for him. He was fundamental for us in this Nations league win.

"He has improved a lot. He's more involved in the game, he's in good form and he has matured. He's been playing at his best for years now."

Spain's involvement at next year's World Cup is in doubt, despite their good showing in the Nations League and at Euro 2020, but Deschamps doesn't want to imagine the tournament without La Roja.

"You cannot think about something like that," Deschamps said. "It'd be tough for everyone.

"I know Spain are fighting with Sweden for first place. Every game is difficult, but from what I've seen of Spain they have the quality to qualify.

"It's important to have the big European teams at these tournaments. A World Cup without one of the European greats would be a bad thing."