OPINION
Cast your mind back to the final of Euro 2016.
A highly fancied France side are dominating a slightly rickety Portugal team, and they are doing so with ease and confidence.
In the end, France would go on to lose that game largely against the run of play, with their opponents striking late in extra time, but the match is still significant thanks to the standout performance of one player in particular.
Moussa Sissoko was a juggernaut in the centre of midfield for much of the tournament, and his display in the final was his crowning moment.
A trophy would have been the ideal way to sign off that summer, but instead he was given a barrage of personal plaudits and ended up securing a move to Tottenham on deadline day.
From there, however, things went downhill pretty quickly. The midfielder didn’t find his groove in north London, and before long he was regarded as the weak link in Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
It has been a long, long struggle to fight his way back to any kind of recognition for club and country, but this season, he has done just that.
The £80,000-a-week ace [Spotrac] has registered four assists and a pass completion rate of 86.9% in all competitions, according to WhoScored.com, and his newfound economical streak has helped him transform himself into a key figure for Spurs.
As if the extent of his revival was in any doubt, Sissoko was handed a start for his national side against Turkey on Saturday evening.
For a player who has been through the ringer over the past few years, this must have felt like he had finally come full circle.