Who ‘came alive’ in the semi-final? France v Spain player ratings

Who ‘came alive’ in the semi-final? France v Spain player ratingsFigure caption, Spain into World Cup final after dominant victory over FranceByNeil JohnstonBBC Sport journalist at Dallas StadiumPublished49 minutes agoSpain dominated France in Dallas to win 2-0 and reach their first World Cup final since 2010, and will face either England or Argentina in New Jersey on Sunday.BBC Sport’s Neil Johnston assesses how the players performed on Tuesday – and you can see how readers rated them at the bottom of the page too.France starting XIMike Maignan: Guessed the right way for Mikel Oyarzabal’s penalty but beaten for pace and power. Also guilty of some poor distribution. 5Jules Kounde: Struggled at times with his passing. France have looked so solid at the back at this World Cup but they came undone in what some might say was their first serious test. 5Dayot Upamecano: Has been huge for France in the USA and made a significant block to deny Fabian Ruiz at 1-0. However, it was all to no avail. 5William Saliba: The Arsenal centre-half went off injured with no-one around him after Spain had scored. A desperately sad end to his World Cup as France failed to respond after falling behind for the first time at the tournament. 6Lucas Digne: Conceded the penalty from which Spain took the lead after kicking Lamine Yamal. 5Aurelien Tchouameni: Has played a key part in France’s run to the semi-final but this was a game to forget as Les Bleus were bullied by Spain in midfield. 5Adrien Rabiot: Lucky to stay on the pitch after fouling Ruiz having already been booked for an early challenge on Dani Olmo. Replaced at the start of the second half. 4Ousmane Dembele: The Ballon d’Or winner was unable to impose himself as Spain bossed the game. 4Michael Olise: Has lit up this World Cup with his assists but chose the semi-final to have his poorest performance and was lucky not to get booked for a late first-half foul on Rodri. 5Bradley Barcola: One early run into the box which won a corner after he skipped past Pedro Porro. Not a lot else. 5Kylian Mbappe: Has set this World Cup alight with his finishing – but not this game. Had just two touches in Spain’s penalty area in the first half and struggled to cause much of a threat. 5SubstitutesMaxence Lacroix (30 mins): Brought on after France lost Saliba to injury. 5Manu Kone (46 mins): Sent on to try to rescue France but unable to impose himself. 4Desire Doue (57 mins): Departs the World Cup with two goal involvements. Brought on to shake things up but could not inspire his team. 4Rayan Cherki (72 mins): Ends his World Cup campaign without making a start. 4Theo Hernandez (72 mins): Came on with Spain already well on top at 2-0 up. 4Figure caption, Oyarzabal coolly converts penalty to give Spain lead against FranceSpain starting XIUnai Simon: A sixth clean sheet in seven matches. Came rushing out of his box to make one vital clearance before Mbappe could pounce. 7Pedro Porro: Scored a wonderful goal to send his country to their first World Cup final since 2010. Now has three goal involvements at this tournament. 7Pau Cubarsi: A commanding presence at the heart of defence as Mbappe, Dembele, Olise and co failed to ignite. 7Aymeric Laporte: What a performance. Cool and composed on the few occasions he found himself under pressure and ended the match with a passing accuracy of more than 90%. 8Marc Cucurella: Booked for two fouls in quick succession on Olise. 6Rodri: Outstanding performance by the Spain captain as France were suffocated and La Roja’s midfield dominated their opponents from start to finish. 9Fabian Ruiz: Should have made it 2-0 but was denied by a goal-saving block by Upamecano. 7Lamine Yamal: Has struggled to turn on the style at this World Cup but the 19-year-old came alive in the semi-final and won the penalty from which Spain scored. He then had a goal ruled out for offside. 8Dani Olmo: Showed some class touches and proved a real nuisance. 7Alex Baena: Wasted an early free-kick when he fired tamely into the French wall from 20 yards. 6Mikel Oyarzabal: Scored his fifth goal of what is turning out to be a memorable World Cup for him. A cool finish from the spot after a delay between the penalty being awarded and taken. 7SubstitutesFerran Torres (74 mins): Brought on to get Spain over the line – and into the World Cup final. 6Mikel Merino (78 mins): Worked hard and produced some good touches. 6Pedri (78 mins): Ensured France were limited to a handful of chances in the closing stages. 6Marcos Llorente (84 mins): Didn’t have many touches. 5Nico Williams (84 mins): Did what was needed in the closing minutes. 5Figure caption, Porro doubles Spain’s lead over FrancePlayer of the matchNumber: 16 RodriAverage rating 8.34France (active)