Rio Ferdinand joked that if he was playing against Kylian Mbappe he would look to the sky and say 'please help me' after another dazzling display from the young striker.

The 19-year-old was under pressure to deliver as France took on Belgium in Saint Petersburg for a place in the World Cup final.

And while he failed to score, Mbappe caused Belgium's defenders numerous problems with his blistering pace on the counter attack.

Kylian Mbappe was the centre of the praise as France booked a spot in the World Cup final

Rio Ferdinand joked he would say a prayer if he had to face Mbappe due to his 'illegal' pace

'Being a defender playing against pace creates panic,' Ferdinand said.

'To be 19 years old and creating that panic at a World Cup is huge. (How do you defend against Mbappe?) You look up and say "please help me!". You need people around you. You need bodies.

'I used to do it sometimes, especially in the latter stages of my career, if I was playing against someone quick I'd get Michael Carrick or someone in front.

'Stop the ball in to him, stop them at source. As soon as the ball gets in to these guys, do not let them face you.'

Stopping the supply into Mbappe is the only way to limit his influence, insists Ferdinand

Ferdinand also took the opportunity to heap praise on France centre back Raphael Varane who put in a colossal performance to keep a clean sheet against Belgium.

It was Varane's defensive partner, Samuel Umtiti, who got the decisive goal but the Real Madrid defender kept Romelu Lukaku quiet all game and it did not go unnoticed by Ferdinand.

'Injuries have held this kid back,' he said. 'He’s like a Ferrari when he gets going, pace has never been a problem.

'This year I think has been the first where he has played consistently. He had one of the most in-form strikers in the world in his pocket today. I love him. He doesn’t show much emotion, he just reads things and is happy and excited about defending.'

Fellow pundit Alan Shearer felt that while players such as Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann give Didier Deschamps' team something special, victory over Belgium also showed the French are 'streetwise'.

Central defender Raphael Varane also received praise after a colossal display and clean sheet

'Varane, Kante, Pogba, Matuidi did the ugly side of the game when they had to dig in,' Shearer said.

'Those guys were there. It was a magnificent performance. We saw them against Argentina perform the way they did and it was a different type of performance tonight.

'They had to answer different questions tonight and I thought they answered them very well.'

France will now wait to see who they will face in Sunday's final with England taking on Croatia in Moscow on Wednesday evening.