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5 unheralded players who helped France, Portugal reach the final

Reuters

Host nation France meets Portugal on Sunday as Euro 2016 comes to a close at the Stade de France, and both teams will certainly pack a punch with the quality of their players.

Whether it's the heavyweight challengers of Cristiano Ronaldo versus Antoine Griezmann or the battle in midfield between Paul Pogba and Renato Sanches, the stars will certainly steal the spotlight.

But they wouldn't be at the final without their teammates, so here are five unheralded players who helped their team make it there:

Bacary Sagna

Bacary Sagna quietly had a renaissance performance in France.

Once considered among the best right-backs in the world during his time with Arsenal, Sagna has since made the switch to Manchester City and hasn't quite captured attention as he once did. However, his runs down the flank and tenacious play has made him a standout at Euro 2016 as Sagna puts in the hard work needed to keep France's lineup ticking.

Often combining with Moussa Sissoko out wide (we'll get to him later), Sagna offers consistency and reliability for Les Bleus.

Jose Fonte

Southampton central defender Jose Fonte didn't do things in the right order for Portugal.

Where many of his teammates have been regulars in the Selecao for the better part of the last decade, Fonte, at 32, made his senior team debut just last year, having spent his 20s well below the national team fringe.

He did not start in any of Portugal's Group F matches, with manager Fernando Santos opting for Ricardo Carvalho instead. But poor performances from Carvalho gave Fonte a chance to start in the quarter-finals against Poland, and showing that he and Pepe form a formidable duo, Fonte kept the spot all the way to the final.

"It means everything, it means the world," Fonte said of his sudden rise, according to ESPN FC. "It's something that I am proud of and something I'll always cherish, this time in Euro 2016."

Laurent Koscielny

That France conceded but four goals in Euro 2016 is a testament to Arsenal central defender Laurent Koscielny.

Tasked with organizing the French defense, Koscielny was forced to suddenly adapt when Adil Rami, his partner in the middle of the back four, was suspended with yellow card accumulation ahead of the quarter-finals.

He was then tasked with ensuring national team debutante Samuel Umtiti could adequately replace Rami and the two combined masterfully to defeat Iceland 5-2 and Germany 2-0. Those results would be slightly less assured without Koscielny calling the shots in the back line.

Nani

Watching Ronaldo shake his head in exasperation at Nani is a time-honoured tradition for fans of the Portuguese national team, but not so at Euro 2016.

Who could forget this Portuguese effort against Spain, where Ronaldo looked to score before Nani needlessly played the ball offside?

Yes, Nani hasn't had the easiest time with the Selecao, but at Euro 2016, the newly minted Valencia winger has found not his scoring touch, nor a touch more pace, or better positional awareness - he has proven adept at all of those traits in the past. No, what Nani found, at long last, was a bit of consistency and, more importantly, competency.

Nani notched three goals in six fixtures (matching Ronaldo) and also has one assist. He is undoubtedly key to Portugal's path to the final, and has, to his relief, not made a right mess of any particularly crucial moments along the way.

Moussa Sissoko

Hatem Ben Arfa? Mathieu Valbuena? Franck Ribery? Samir Nasri? Didier Deschamps found a new option on the right wing and his name is Moussa Sissoko.

It seems an impossibility that the man who joined Newcastle in 2012-13 and found himself relegated last season could do enough to make the starting XI of one of the most talent-rich nations in the world, and yet, that's exactly what Sissoko did.

Assuredly, he did not take that opportunity for granted and has performed admirably thus far; he started three times and came off the bench twice to help France advance past significantly mightier opponents than Portugal on the "tough" side of the Euro 2016 bracket.

While he is by no means the French team's star performer, he filled in where needed and did a job as Deschamps tried to figure out his midfield shape in various permutations. That sort of versatility makes Sissoko valuable.

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