Kylian Mbappe helped France win the World Cup four years ago and became a superstar in the process. This time, the match can serve as a powerful counterattack to prove that his club is not doing well, and it is also an opportunity to play in his favourite position.
For Karim Benzema, it was an opportunity to show the talent that earned him the prestigious Ballon d'Or at almost 35 years old.
Four years ago, when 19-year-old Mbappe scored in a World Cup final, he was the youngest player to score in a decisive match since Pele in 1958. Benzema was far from Moscow at the time as the Real Madrid striker was expelled from the national team.
Although they played together at last year's Euros, Benzema has only just returned and things between them have not quite happened. Since then, they have shown how well they have performed in the tournament - sharing six goals in a World Cup qualification victory, which French coach Didier Deschamps called "a good football night".
Benzema is second in Madrid's goal list behind Cristiano Ronaldo with 329 goals.
Mbappe is expected to break Edinson Cavani's Paris Saint-Germain record this season, having already scored 28 goals for France. Benzema has 37.
They will form Qatar's deadliest forward combination. Especially if Mbappe has the freedom he craves, free from the frustration of playing as a centre-forward for Paris Saint-Germain. He would rather strip a target figure like Olivier Giroud and thus use his speed and skills to attack from the depths or breadth.
"I have more freedom. The coach (Deschamps) knows there is a No.9 like Olivier [Giroud] taking care of the defenders, so I can run around and find space to ask for the ball," Mbappe said in September, adding that Giroud assisted a goal for him in the Nations League win over Austria. "Paris is different, this is not going to happen, I was asked to play pivot (centre-forward).
After a 0-0 draw with Reims earlier this month, Mbappe brought his frustration online by posting a sarcastic hashtag called "#pivotgang". "Pivot" is a French football term for a centre-forward who, like Giroud, has his back to goal, and Mbappe doesn't want to do that.
Giroud needs two goals to tie Thierry Henry's record of 51. But Deschamps may prefer Antoine Griezmann, who is now back in Atletico Madrid's form.
Mbappe has other ideas as well, having recently denied he was unhappy at Paris Saint-Germain and is pushing for a move to Real Madrid - who have twice failed to sign him.
He also had to deal with allegations from French investigative media outlet Mediapart, claiming PSG hired an outside company to create fake Twitter accounts to discredit media perceived to be hostile to the club. Mediapart claims former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot was targeted alongside Mbappe after reports emerged in 2019 that Mbappe wanted to join Madrid.
So restoring relations with the French media at the World Cup could be a relief for Mbappe. However, after losing last year's European Championships, he desperately needs proof.
While Benzema had four goals and Griezmann scored one, Mbappe did not score and missed the decisive penalty when France were eliminated by Switzerland in the round of 16.
France should see this loss to Switzerland as a wake-up call.
Since Brazil lost to France in the 1998 final, the defending World Cup champions have not been able to successfully defend their title. Of the next five titles, four failed to make it to the knockout stage and three finished last in their group, including France in 2002.
France should join Denmark in Euro 2020 in the race for first place in Group D. Australia and Tunisia were also included in the group.
Deschamps' attack is the envy of world football, and he also boasts two excellent goalkeepers, veteran Hugo Lloris and Mike Menhão.
But Deschamps has serious injury problems with key players in defence and midfield.