A FIFA World Cup wonder goal from James Rodriguez helped fire Colombia into the quarter-finals as his double beat Uruguay 2-0.
The Monaco forward has been outstanding throughout the tournament in Brazil and he again showed his star quality with a strike fit to grace the iconic Maracana on Saturday, as he put together a virtuoso performance to send his side through to a last-eight meeting with hosts Brazil.
His unstoppable long-distance 28th-minute volley will no doubt be considered as one of the best goals in World Cup history, and when the 22-year-old followed up by netting a second five minutes after the break he added gloss to his own display.
That first sensational strike helped to ensure the encounter will be remembered for all the right seasons, with the pre-match build-up having been marred by the fallout from Luis Suarez’s four-month ban from any football activity for his alleged bite on Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in the group phase.
Suarez – who was also hit with a nine-match international suspension – has protested his innocence with Uruguay having appealed FIFA’s ruling, but in his absence Oscar Tabarez’s men struggled to find any real penetration going forward.
Indeed, Uruguay started on the defensive and it took James Rodriguez’s strike to light up the encounter.
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