Football
Mark Rodden 8y

West Ham's Dimitri Payet 'cool' over Euro 2016 France call-up uncertainty

West Ham playmaker Dimitri Payet says he is "cool" about the prospect of failing to make the France squad for Euro 2016.

The former Marseille player, 28, has scored eight goals and bagged nine assists since moving to the Hammers last summer, but that has still not been enough to convince France coach Didier Deschamps that he is worthy of a recall.

Payet has hit out at being snubbed in the past, but Deschamps said on Sunday that there was still a chance for the midfielder to make the squad, even though at international level the player has "not done the same as with his club."

Payet was born on the French island of Reunion and in an interview with a local paper there he said he was relaxed about his future with Les Bleus.

"I've already missed a World Cup -- I know what it's like," he told Le Journal de l'ile de la Reunion. "The Euros are obviously in the back of my mind but there's not a spirit of revenge. I'm cool.

"There's a squad that was built at the start of the new season, which I didn't feature in. That's the way it is. You have to live with it and I'm doing that well.

"You have to respect the decision of the manager. He's the boss."

The former Saint-Etienne and Lille attacker scored twice in West Ham's 5-1 FA Cup win at Blackburn last weekend and he says he is happy to concentrate on his club form rather than France.

"I'm giving my all and if that's not sufficient, I know I won't have any regrets," Payet said. "I'm doing so well here that I don't want to spoil my enjoyment by getting worked up over that, even if it's difficult not to think about it."

Meanwhile, Lille attacker Yassine Benzia has switched allegiance in order to play for Algeria at international level.

Benzia, 21, had been playing for France's under-21 side, but he has decided to play at senior level for his parents' home country.

The Algerian Football Federation [FAF] confirmed Benzia's decision on Wednesday, a day after the player met FAF president Mohamed Raouraoua. And Benzia later said he made the decision after discussions with Algeria manager Christian Gourcuff.

"I'm very happy and proud for my parents, as well as for all my family members who live over there," he told Lille's official website. "I've received a lot of messages of congratulations. It's a decision that was carefully thought through a while ago. I was only waiting for the right time to announce it.

"I'm now impatient to start the adventure -- if I'm lucky enough to be selected of course."

Benzia has scored five goals in 20 league matches since moving from Lyon to Lille last summer. He could make his debut for Algeria in next month's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Ethiopia.

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