France Boss Didier Deschamps Must Start Star Man Dimitri Payet vs. Ireland

France and the Republic of Ireland meet at Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday with a place in the 2016 UEFA European Championship quarter-finals at stake.

For the hosts, the tournament is truly beginning now after a slow start. For the Irish, this is a chance for them to prolong what can already be considered a successful campaign after a 1-1 draw with Sweden in Paris and a famous 1-0 win over Italy in Lille in Group E.

Les Bleus beat Romania and Albania in their two opening Group A fixtures, but Switzerland held them to a draw in Lille in the final round of matches. It is fair to say that Didier Deschamps’ men have yet to truly arrive at their own party.

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One French player who has turned up for the opening three games on home soil, though, is Dimitri Payet.

The two-time winners’ most impressive performer so far, the West Ham United star has scored two and assisted one more of the hosts’ four goals to date. If France want to go further than the round of 16, then they will need Payet to extend his group-stage form into the knockout rounds.

The 29-year-old came on as a 63rd-minute substitute against the Swiss at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, and even though he was only given 27 minutes to shine, he still managed to hit the woodwork with what would have been one of the goals of Euro 2016.

Despite Deschamps’ decision to rest his No. 8, Payet has not lost any of his form. If anything, the former Olympique de Marseille and Lille OSC man was relieved to not risk injury on a horrible pitch in Lille.

When speaking with journalists the day after the Switzerland stalemate, as reported by Associated Press (h/t ESPN FC), Payet confessed that he was pleased he did not start against Vladimir Petkovic’s men and suggested that the playing surface influenced the 0-0 score:

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I'm glad I didn't play much on Lille's pitch, because it was in bad shape. It's a pity because it stops us developing our game the way we'd like. We're going to Lyon [for the next game] and things will be better.

In my opinion, it [the result] is linked to the state of the pitch. Because most of our players, if not all, play with proper [fixed] studs.

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Payet not only scores goals but also creates chances—and plenty of them. Considering how the likes of Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Andre-Pierre Gignac have struggled to find the net so far, the West Ham gem has taken on even greater importance in Deschamps’ starting XI.

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Les Bleus will need both of his talents against Ireland on Sunday. On paper, at least, the French should beat Martin O’Neill’s men easily, but their profligate displays so far suggest that the Boys in Green could frustrate them and force them to extra time or worse.

Deschamps will hope that the combination of his substitute appearance against Switzerland and an extended rest period ahead of the start of the round-of-16 fixtures has not had a bad impact on Payet.

The French wizard’s fantastic effort that crashed off the woodwork in Lille suggests not, but the team as a whole, not just Payet, could have suffered for the lack of a competitive match in more or less a full week.

Speaking with journalists after the draw with the Swiss, as reported by Ligue1.com, Deschamps was not worried. The 47-year-old was more concerned with finishing top of Group A and advancing to the latter stages to face a relatively favourable opponent:

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In terms of our plans it was very, very important to finish first in the group. It's very good; clearly there are things to improve on, but I've seen virtually every match in this competition and all sides have had tricky games. But for a great goalkeeper and a few centimetres, or being more clinical, we could have scored goals. We got through, scored goals and created chances, and resolved a number of things defensively in a short space of time. There was a lot of focus on defending set pieces. In terms of our control in attacking play, we can always do better, but I'm pleased with what the players are doing. There are expectations; it's great to have the support of the people but we need to be able to let go a bit more in matches. That was the case in the second half of the second game, and it happened in flashes tonight, even if we didn't have to really push because we wanted to make sure of top spot.

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Over the past 12 months, Payet has gone from a peripheral member of Deschamps’ squad to one of the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 UEFA European Championship-winning former captain’s most integral players.

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In the English Premier League with West Ham this season just gone, the Hammers’ No. 27 scored nine goals and provided 12 assists. Extended to include domestic cup competitions as well, he scored 12 times and laid on the same number in 34 appearances.

Payet has never known consistency like this in his career. In Ligue 1 with FC Nantes, AS Saint-Etienne, Lille and Marseille, he would always show flashes of his brilliance but never quite sustain it.

Those days are gone, and Deschamps’ France team are reaping the benefits of a player who, as reported by Associated Press (h/t ESPN FC), feels the Premier league has kicked his game up to a new level of consistency.

Payet also admitted that he is trying to ignore the pressure created by his impressive early performances this summer:

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It would be stupid to ruin it all by putting myself under pressure for no reason. I want to enjoy myself on the pitch.We need to kill games off ... We've got to start putting them away.

People believe in me and they expect things from me; which counts a lot. I think I can still improve.

A lot of the physical contact [in the Premier League] is right on the limit. You're playing against a big European club every couple of weeks and you have to be ready, so I think the level of the Premier League prepared me for international standards.

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Payet’s recent performances for France certainly back up his claims, and it is currently easier to imagine Les Bleus without the likes of Griezmann and perhaps even Paul Pogba than it is the West Ham man.

Whatever he does on Sunday at Parc OL, Deschamps must start Payet. If the former Marseille boss does not, then the hosts could be a in for a shock if their wasteful form in front of goal continues.