Germany made it to the last four of the World Cup thanks to Mats Hummels's first-half header in a 1-0 win to eliminate France.

Here, Sports Mole rates the players who took part in Friday's quarter-final.

© Getty Images

FRANCE

Goal

Hugo Lloris: Had absolutely no chance with Hummels's fine header, and apart from a couple of shaky moments from crosses he was not at fault for the defeat. (7/10)

Defence

Mathieu Debuchy: Was targeted in the air by both Miroslav Klose and Thomas Muller, especially in the first half, but stood up well to everything that was thrown at him. France's best defender. (8/10)

Raphael Varane: Did not let up a lot of chances and was careful not to be dragged out of position by Germany's attackers, but could have been more of a threat from set pieces. (7/10)

Mamadou Sakho: Germany did not create a great deal of chances throughout, so deserves credit for that, but lost his man from corners once or twice. (7/10)

Patrice Evra: Better going forward than he was defensively, but lost the battle of the flank to Philipp Lahm, who was back in his normal right-back spot. (7/10)

Midfield

Yohan Cabaye: Kept things ticking over reasonably well, but his passing was far too safe and was rarely a threat in an attacking sense. (6/10)

Paul Pogba: Probably his least dominant performance of the tournament, but still caused some trouble at least early on. Faded later on as Germany took control of the midfield battle. (7/10)

Blaise Matuidi: Was the most likely of the French central players to help out Karim Benzema, and he popped up all over the place. Gave everything to the cause. (8/10)

Mathieu Valbuena: Operating from the left side of the attack, he was always the most likely of the three to make something happen. Might have had a goal in an all-round solid performance. (8/10)

Antoine Griezmann: Was not often in the game on the right flank, with Benedikt Howedes very impressive against him. Tried hard, but ultimately had little impact. (6/10)

Attack

Karim Benzema: Very disappointing overall. Had one or two chances and could have done better in the first half in particular, but never really looked like causing much threat. (5/10)

Substitutes

Loic Remy: Came on with just under 20 minutes to and ran hard but never posed a threat to the solid German defence. (6/10)

Olivier Giroud: Had even less chance to impress than Remy, and although he won a decent header the service was not right for him to do anything decent. (5/10)

© Getty Images

GERMANY

Goal

Manuel Neuer: Another excellent performance between the sticks. Did not have to sweep up as much as against Algeria, but made two very good saves and claimed everything within a few metres of him. (8/10)

Defence

Philipp Lahm: Back to his more familiar right-back position, Lahm put in an excellent performance. Had a difficult task against a very attacking France left flank, but won the battle. (8/10)

Jerome Boateng: His best performance of the World Cup so far. He was strong, quick, and made numerous interceptions in a fine Germany defensive showing. (8/10)

Mats Hummels: The best player on the pitch. Not only did he dominate the ball for his match-winning header, but he kept Benzema in his pocket all game long. (9/10)

Benedikt Howedes: Did not have any say in an attacking sense and preferred to hang back, but Griezmann was very quiet on his flank and he was a large reason for that. (7/10)

Midfield

Sami Khedira: Sat back deliberately this game, while he has often got forward so far this tournament, and his performance was better for it. (7/10)

Bastian Schweinsteiger: Did not start the first game, but has made the midfield slot his own. It was another dominant midfield showing from the Bayern Munich man. (8/10)

Toni Kroos: One of his better outings of the tournament so far. His delivery for Hummels's header was outstanding and was excellent with his passing at pace throughout. (8/10)

Mesut Ozil: Has not impressed at the World Cup so far and it was another night to forget. Might have had an assist, however, if Andre Schurrle finished better. (6/10)

Thomas Muller: His most quiet performance of the tournament so far. Was well marshalled when trying to make late runs and did not manage to get himself in any decent shooting positions. (7/10)

Attack

Miroslav Klose: Started in the hope of getting his record World Cup goal, but hardly had a sniff with the game played mainly on the ground. Showed some nice touches around the edge of the box. (7/10)

Substitutes

Andre Schurrle: Came on with just over 20 minutes to play and ran a lot. Changed the dimension of Germany's attack but did miss a very good chance to put the result beyond doubt. (7/10)

Written by
Matt Domm