AF World Cup Star of the Day: Rodrigo dominated with solid defense in Spain's 2-0 win over France

Good afternoon, AFers. The Star of the Day for the 2026 World Cup has been selected. In today's semifinal, Rodri delivered a standout performance, completely shutting down France's world-class midfield and attack, leading Spain to a 2-0 win and a place in the final. He has deservedly been named today's best player!

Rodri won all 4 of his aerial duels in this match, succeeded in 7 of his 12 ground duels, and also made 4 tackles and 2 clearances, while recording a pass completion rate of 87%. Most importantly, when directly matched up against France’s engine Olise, Rodri completely shut him down for most of the match, leaving Olise extremely frustrated.

From the knockout stage onward, whether up against Portugal’s Vitinha, Joao Neves and Bruno Fernandes, Belgium’s De Bruyne, or France’s Olise, Tchouameni and Rabiot in this match, Rodri has consistently managed to stand out in battles against elite midfielders. He has also become Spain’s greatest source of confidence as they continue their run at this tournament.

Rodri's detailed stats for this match

Played the full 90 minutes (completed the full match)

Distance covered: 12.63 km (match high)

Tackles won: 4 (joint-most in the match)

Fouled: 3

Passes: 67

Accurate passes: 58

Pass completion rate: 87%

Aerial duels/Aerial duels won: 4/4

Ground duels won: 12/7

Clearances 2

Fouls 4

Forced opponent turnovers: 19 (game high)