Djibril Cisse says he's signed for Lazio to get back into the France squad.

The former Liverpool and Sunderland striker moved to Lazio last week from Panathinaikos.

"Serie A is one of the best Leagues in the world, so I'm eager to discover it and test myself against Europe's top defences," he told L'Equipe.

"We will have a super squad at Lazio and this new experience is a great challenge for me. I'll be taking on some stronger defences than I am accustomed to, so I'm curious to see how I do."

Cissè was a mainstay of the France side, but has fallen out of favour despite a strong scoring record at Panathinaikos.

"I had two excellent campaigns in Greece, but evidently that was not enough. I know how good I am and what I want.

"I'm not dead yet for France. Laurent Blanc knows Serie A well and he wants strikers who can score in the top Leagues. I'm here at Lazio to win back my place in the France squad."