France coach Laurent Blanc called up uncapped Saint-Etienne forward Dimitri Payet and recalled Yoann Gourcuff on Thursday for upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Romania and Luxembourg.
Payet has been in great form this season, scoring seven goals in as many league games to help Saint-Etienne into first place for the first time since 1982. Blanc said "current form counts" and Payet deserves his chance.
"He is showing the talent people have been talking about for a few seasons now," Blanc said. "It's the right time for him to come into the squad. Now it's up to him to earn his place."
"It's only a start for me and I will have to work hard to impose myself," said Payet, who can play on either wing or through the middle.
The Lyon playmaker Gourcuff was suspended for the opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Belarus, which France lost 1-0, and so Blanc decided not to put him in his squad for the 2-0 away win to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Despite Lyon struggling in the relegation zone, Blanc is confident of helping Gourcuff find his best form.
"He's lucky that I know him much better than other players, and I know what he's capable of," said Blanc, who coached him when Bordeaux won the title two seasons ago.
Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri, injured for the opening two qualifiers, was also called up.
Blanc stuck with Karim Benzema, despite him not playing regularly for Real Madrid and struggling to make any impression in Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League win against Auxerre.
"A lot of players score for their clubs and not for their country," Blanc said. "Everyone saw how well he played against Bosnia."
Benzema has been criticized for his lack of effort recently by Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, a friend of Blanc's.
"I hope (Karim understands) that what Jose and I say about him is to help him realize just quite how much potential he really has," Blanc said. "To do much more than he has done so far."
France plays Romania at Stade de France on Oct. 9, and then hosts Luxembourg in Metz three days later.
Blanc again left out Lyon midfielder Jeremy Toulalan, saying he prefers to give younger players their chance for now. Newcastle winger Hatem Ben Arfa was overlooked despite an encouraging start to his Premier League career.
Blanc is still unsure who will be his long-term captain after trying Alou Diarra, Philippe Mexes and Florent Malouda in the role since taking over from Raymond Domenech after France's disastrous World Cup campaign.
"You have to judge the person who is competent for the role," Blanc said. "I need a bit of time."
Blanc is still finding his way after losing two of his three opening games, including a friendly against Norway.
"What's amazing in football is that everything can change in three days, from one extreme to the other," he said. "The biggest problem we have is creating a core within the team. We don't have the players at our disposal every day."
Roster:
Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille).
Defenders: Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Adil Rami (Lille), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Mamadou Sakho (Paris Saint-Germain), Benoit Tremoulinas (Bordeaux).
Midfielders: Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Yoann Gourcuff (Lyon), Yann Mvila (Rennes), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Blaise Matuidi (Saint-Etienne), Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille).
Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kevin Gameiro (Lorient), Guillaume Hoarau (Paris Saint-Germain), Dimitri Payet (Saint-Etienne), Loic Remy (Marseille).
