Theo Hernandez

When a Chinese journalist told him his nickname among Chinese fans is “Supercar” for speed, he joked: "I prefer Ferrari."

France had a nightmare start to the World Cup with star players Kante and Pogba amongst a range of others dropping off due to injury. His brother Theo replaced him at left back in a straight swap, even though they are different styles of players Theo Hernandez wants to win the World Cup for France.

Didier Deschamps has had to call upon a number of would-be reserves to play a leading role for Les Bleus.

Impressive in the Champions League final in summer, he was similarly good in a World Cup semi-final. It was not how many they scored, however, but when, and Theo Hernandez and Kolo Muani, who might have been watching on from the technical area and the sofa respectively, instead showed France’s second-string players could make them officially first in the world. Were N’Golo Kante available, Aurelien Tchouameni would probably be a reserve: instead he is a commanding presence at the base of the midfield and, besides knocking Kante out of Deschamps’ first XI, should be a candidate for a place in the team of the tournament. Theo Hernandez might not be the best left-back in his family but he has scored in a World Cup semi-final. This has been their World Cup of the stand-in, of the understudies who have become invaluable. Theo could have conceded a penalty for a collision with Sofiane Boufal; instead, the winger was unfortunate to be booked.

Theo Hernandez's goal against Morocco on Wednesday set France on their way to a second successive World Cup final. But it could have been very different if ...

Argentina are not just Messi, they have loads of players, they're a great team." "It's amazing to play two World Cup finals in a row, we've done a great job." "It's a huge match.