Kante turns 35 today but shows no sign of letting up. He is still a regular fixture in Didier Deschamps’ France squad and played against Brazil on Thursday in Boston, with one recovery run and perfectly-executed tackle on Joao Pedro late on a timely reminder of his qualities.

Of course, Kante was late to the professional football party, and it was in this very international window a decade ago that he made his debut for Les Bleus, just as his breakthrough campaign at Leicester City was reaching its thrilling conclusion.

A big summer followed for Kante. He played four times at the European Championship, held on home soil but ending on a disappointing note individually and collectively, as he remained an unused substitute in France’s surprise 1-0 loss to Portugal at the Stade de France.

A few weeks after that final, in late July, Kante signed for Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. At Stamford Bridge he cemented his status as one of the game’s great midfielders, playing an integral role in our title-winning success of 2016/17. He was also central to Deschamps’ plans to help France bounce back from that heartbreak on home soil and win the biggest prize of all at the 2018 World Cup.

Twenty years prior, Deschamps had captained France to glory with two Chelsea players – Frank Leboeuf and Marcel Desailly, who had just penned his contract at the Bridge – featuring in the side. Now Deschamps, who himself later spent a season in west London, set his sights on steering Les Bleus to glory in Russia.

Kante headed to the tournament off the back of another successful year in which he won the FA Cup with Chelsea and barely missed a game.

At the World Cup, Deschamps started Kante in his three-man midfield in each of France’s seven games. He was accompanied at various points by Paul Pogba, Corentin Tolisso and Blaise Matuidi, but there was no question who Deschamps valued most.

‘Everything looks simple and easy for him,’ he said. ‘I've played that position and there are times when your tongue is hanging out because you are so tired. He makes it look easy.’

Like many eventual winners, France didn’t set the group stage alight, scrapping past Australia and Peru before drawing with Denmark. Then came a thrilling 4-3 win over Argentina in which another Chelsea player, Olivier Giroud, set up two goals for the lively Kylian Mbappe.

‘The Australia game was my first World Cup game, and it was the same for many of the players,’ recalled Kante. ‘After that we found a good team shape during the competition. Olivier was working with [Antoine] Griezmann, and they did very well to cause problems for the defenders, to fight when we needed to fight, and to help us when we needed to defend. They helped us be decisive in this competition.'

France proved too good for Uruguay (2-0) and Eden Hazard’s Belgium (1-0) in the quarters and semis, setting up a final against underdogs Croatia. Kante was suffering from a stomach bug but battled through the pain barrier to play the first 55 minutes before being withdrawn with France 2-1 up. They would go on to triumph 4-2, lifting the trophy for the second time in their history.

‘It’s something great, something amazing,’ Kante beamed when interviewed after the game in Moscow. ‘It means we did a lot of work and it’s a big achievement together. We really enjoyed it.

‘Before the competition we all knew we could trust everyone in the squad. We knew that we had a good team with good players. And we knew there were many contenders for the title.

‘I think we did very well during the whole competition and we deserve to be champions. Now it is time to enjoy the title with the team, and after that a holiday!’

Kante, Giroud and their team-mates returned to Paris for a spectacular celebration in the streets. ‘It is really something I will never forget,’ smiled Kante in front of the adoring fans.

To Peter Bonetti, Frank Leboeuf, Marcel Desailly and Andre Schurrle, we could add the names of N’Golo Kante and Olivier Giroud as Chelsea World Cup winners, with a match-issued Kante France shirt sitting in a cabinet in our museum dedicated to those history-makers.

And knowing N’Golo, it would be no surprise if he and France repeated the trick at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey later this year.

You can find out more about our history and see amazing artefacts in the flesh at the Chelsea FC Museum at Stamford Bridge!