Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann has said he is disappointed that Karim Benzema will not take part in Euro 2016 but is ready to take on extra responsibility for France in his absence.
The French Football Federation confirmed on Wednesday that Benzema, 28, will not feature for the Euro 2016 hosts after the Real Madrid striker was charged with conspiracy to blackmail last November.
Benzema was suspended indefinitely from the national team as a result and France coach Didier Deschamps has now decided to plan without him for this summer's tournament.
Griezmann, 25, scored both goals on Wednesday to help Atletico Madrid reach the Champions League semifinals at the expense of title holders Barcelona following a 2-0 win in the second leg.
With Benzema missing, there will now be more pressure on the ex-Real Sociedad player to star for France in June.
But that prospect is not something that he is afraid of.
"All the better if more is expected of me," he told L'Equipe.
Griezmann heard news of the decision on Benzema's future with France while he was on the way to the ground for Wednesday night's game against Barcelona.
He said he was disappointed for Benzema but thinks that the likes of Arsenal's Olivier Giroud and Andre-Pierre Gignac of Mexican side Tigres can step up.
"On a personal level, there's a lot of sadness because I get on well with him on and off the pitch," Griezmann said.
"He's a friend for me. Professionally, we have to respect the decision of everyone.
"He's a really great player -- we'll definitely miss him. But we have other attackers. We saw that in the last friendly matches when Giroud and Dede [Gignac] did the job well. We have confidence in them. We'll work hard to go all the way."
Meanwhile, former France forward Jean-Pierre Papin is confident that Griezmann can help make up for Benzema's omission.
"On a sporting level, we're doing without a talent, that's certain, and it's a pity for Les Bleus," Papin told Le Parisien. "But we're not depriving ourselves of the best French attacker. Benzema is only one of the best.
"At the moment, Griezmann is above him. We also have Gignac who's very good. We can compensate for his absence."
Ex-France left back Bixente Lizarazu said he would not like to have been in Deschamps shoes, suggesting it was an extremely difficult call for his former teammate to take.
"For a while now we've had a tendency to shoot on sight with Benzema, which isn't fair," Lizarazu told L'Equipe. "He's having an excellent season with Real Madrid.
"Yes, the French team has worked well in its last matches, but they were friendly matches. Here you're depriving yourself of the best French attacker. He has experience that the others don't."