France national team manager Didier Deschamps reckons that the striker Karim Benzema is very important to the national team just as Cristiano Ronaldo is to Real Madrid.

Benzema is regarded as one of the finest strikers in world football, but France have not been able to capitalise on his presence. They have struggled for much of the time Benzema has led the line. This is in sharp contrast to the days of Thierry Henry when France used to be very successful. Of course, the success of a national team also depends on other players too, butDeschamps has once again spoken about the importance of the 27-year-old ahead of the international break.

There will be no Euro 2016 qualifying matches for France since they forced the tournament itself. Hence, they have been involved only in friendly matches until now. The results have so far not been very encouraging forDeschamps and his team. After having tested only one win in the last four friendly matches, the pressure will be on the French national team to get a positive result in the upcoming friendly against Portugal. Benzema will come up against his Madrid teammate Ronaldo in this game and this has led to comparisons between the duo.

"The presence of Karim is very important. He's a top-level player who has international experience.He's not going to resolve everything by himself, but Karim is Karim and I prefer having him with us.It's like with Portugal. If [Cristiano] Ronaldo isn't there, it's not the same thing. In order to be efficient, France will always need Karim to be on top of his game. He has individual qualities, and when he's in the penalty area he's able to get by his man even when he's being marked closely,” said the French national team boss.