The distance from Boulogne-sur-Mer to Moscow is 1,700 miles. The obvious joke is that N’Golo Kanté could probably jog the distance in his sleep. But a more sincere assessment takes in a five-year route from the third tier of French football to the most important football match on earth.

Five years of relentless running and intercepting and shielding with a perfect blend of energy and quiet intelligence have propelled Kanté to the World Cup final against Croatia as the man who epitomises the idea of a player’s player, a teammate cherished for his invaluable, unshowy, contribution.

There is more recognisable stardust elsewhere in the France team. Rightly Kylian Mbappé has made the world gasp at his prodigious brilliance. Paul Pogba always demands attention. Antoine Griezmann carries cachet. Hugo Lloris is an admired spokesman and captain. Even Benjamin Pavard had his spotlight moment when his swishing strike against Argentina became one of the goals of the tournament.

Kanté is not interested in public acclaim. Off the pitch he is happiest in the shadows. He is a local hero who hides from attention. There is a kind of gentleman’s agreement between him and the French media that they more or less leave him to his own devices, they do not hound him for a quote or focus their lenses on him too sharply. As long as he does his thing on the pitch, they will respect his preference to stay low-profile. That aspect of his personality may give the impression of a supporting actor but his status within the team is stellar.

After the triumphant semi-final against Belgium, his teammate Benjamin Mendy posted a photograph where he is embracing his teammate and making a point of pointing at him, showing him off, marking him out for all the crowd to see: “SVP dites moi comment on l’aime lui ???!!! [Please tell me how much we love him???!!!]”

Samuel Umtiti elaborates: “N’Golo works in the shadows. We feel obliged to bring him into the light. To wind him up, we tell him to dance, to express himself a little. He doesn’t like it. He is shy and reserved. But just seeing him smile makes us happy.”

Kanté is the centerpiece of a quiet spine that has become pivotal to how France’s team functions. They provide balance and ballast, allowing others around them to add flourish. Lloris in goal is a sensible and mature influence. Raphaël Varane is another who does not behave in a flamboyant way and lets his football speak for his immense defensive qualities. Then there is Kanté patrolling midfield as if there were two of him buzzing about. Up front Olivier Giroud’s efforts might not have yielded any goals for himself but his presence and link-up play help Mbappé and Griezmann to have freedom to express themselves.

Critics who had been waiting for France to find their identity, who questioned whether they could fulfil their potential during the group stage as they sailed through with positive results but only adequate performances, have watched their team evolve during the knockouts. Now the team is settled. Now they have faith in what they are doing. Now they click and bring the best out of one another.

In their standout performances, the second youngest squad at this World Cup found a potent mix of youthful zest and tactical maturity. They were able to be more vivid and imaginative against Argentina, needed to be more resilient and strategic against Belgium. One common denominator in these different types of display was the disciplined authority that runs along that quiet spine, setting the tone and keeping the pulse.

For Kanté to be part of that, to walk out in the Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday, resonates in a special way because he had spent so many of his formative footballing years off the radar. A gentle, smiling soul, his personal story goes against the model of youth development which is so heralded in the France set-up. He is one of three players in the squad who did not represent their country at junior level, being late developers or having to come around several blocks before earning an opportunity to shine.

Both Kanté and Giroud had to spend time in the third tier of French football to get a leg up, Kanté with US Boulogne and Giroud with Istres. The other, Adil Rami, was an amateur playing for Frejus in the fourth division while doing odd jobs before he got the chance to begin his own ascent.

Kanté made his debut for France on his 25th birthday. Usually by then the international boat has long since sailed. At the last World Cup he was nowhere near international football. In fact, as recently as a couple of months before his first cap in March 2016, he was still being courted by Mali, the birthplace of his parents, with the invitation to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations.

It is hard not to wonder how different things might have been had he been more tempted by that offer, had he not decided to hang on that bit longer to see if there would be a call from the country where he was born.

France became the lucky beneficiaries of a player who has put his own twist on the water carrier role that his manager, Didier Deschamps, performed with aplomb for the 1998 World Cup winners. Patrick Vieira described Kanté as a “coach’s dream” for the way his diligent work provides a one-man support structure for France to develop their rhythm. Pogba, whose own influence has grown playing alongside him, reckons Kanté plays as if he has 15 lungs.

France are no strangers to major finals. This is their third World Cup final out of the past six editions. They have also reached two European Championship finals in the same two-decade span. But in that time they have also slunk to some catastrophic lows, most recently when the team rebelled and slunk home in disgrace from South Africa. Back in 2010, a teenaged Kanté was playing in the eighth division in France for JS Suresnes, overlooked because he was a small and selfless player. Still small, still selfless, he stands on the verge of one more giant step into football folklore.