Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Rio de Janeiro: A superb brace from James Rodriguez propelled Colombia into the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history with his goals either side of the interval seeing Los Cafeteros defeat Uruguay 2-0 in their Round of 16 clash.
The mercurial Monaco attacker, who was in blistering form as he came off the bench to set-up two and score the fourth as Colombia swept aside Asian champions Japan 4-1 in the group phase, maintained his goal-a-game ratio when he broke the deadlock in Saturday's all-South American encounter at the iconic Maracana Stadium with a contender for goal of the tournament.
Controlling Abel Aguilar's header with his chest, Rodriguez unleashed an unstoppable half-volley that crashed off the underside of the cross and into the back of the net as the 22-year-old found the target for the fourth consecutive World Cup match.
Five minutes after the interval Rodriguez bagged his tournament-leading fifth of the campaign by capping a fine, flowing team-move as Juan Cuadrado unselfishly headed Pablo Armero's cross from the left allowing Monaco's player of the year to tap home what transpired to be the final goal of the match as Colombia set up a mouth-watering clash with host Brazil on Friday.
Photo: AFP