Nice midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa has not given up hope of returning to the France team in time for next year's UEFA Euro 2016.
After a forgettable 2014-15 campaign, Ben Arfa has hit the ground running this season, with his brace in Nice's 4-1 win over Saint-Etienne on Sunday making him Ligue 1's joint-top goalscorer.
Ben Arfa's sparkling form has some believing he could make a return for France and the 28-year-old, who has not represented the national team since earning his 13th cap in 2012, admits an international recall is on his mind.
"It's still far but why not," Ben Arfa said via L'Equipe when quizzed about his hopes of making the European Championships, which get underway on June 10, 2016.
"The France team has many good players. It is already a very solid group that has been together for a long time, there is a base.
"It is difficult to enter. But it's up to me to prove to the field to try to be there."
