Samir Nasri tells KickOff.com that he was surprised by Karim Benzema’s omission from the France squad for Euro 2016.
The French Football Federation suspended the Real Madrid striker in December after being charged with conspiracy to blackmail amid allegations one of his friends tried to extort money from international teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Benzema has since suggested that racism could have also played a part in him being dropped but, either way, Nasri insists he will be missed.
“It [his absence] will be really important because he had the best season of his career and scored plenty of goals in the league, so I was a little bit surprised with his suspension,” the Manchester City midfielder tellsKickOff.com.
“Sometimes you don’t understand things that are happening there, so I’m a little bit sad for him.”
Nasri himself will watch the tournament from home after retiring from international football in 2014 following a falling out with coach Didier Deschamps.
Still, he feels Les Bleus have a good chance of winning Euro 2016, especially with it being played on home soil.
“I think it’s an easy group and the fact that there are now 24 teams makes it easier to qualify for the round of 16,” he adds.
“It’s really important for France to do well for so many reasons. Today football is just not a sport; there’s everything around it too.
“France really have to do well, and of course the last two times France organised tournaments they won the World Cup [in 1998] and European Championships [in 2000] , so why not a third time?”
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Samir Nasri wears the New Balance Football Galaxy/Bright Cherry Visaro boot. To find out more about New Balance Football, go to newbalance.com/football or follow @NBFootball on Twitter and Instagram
