An unstoppable James Rodriguez lead Colombia and sent Uruguay packing after a sublime Round of 16 match between these two CONMEBOL titans, where los Cafeteros imposed themselves (2-0) over a Charrua squad that was missing their star striker Luis Suarez.
Liverpool's favored striker Luis Suarez, was not included in Uruguay's lineup for this knockout stage match, due to a 9-match ban imposed by FIFA for biting Italy's defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder, plus a 4-month suspension from any football related activity and a 112,000$ fine.
It was a nervous and fast paced start for both teams which came out aggressively trying to make a point of who was going to control the game on this legendary Maracana field. Dutch ref, Bjorn Kuipers, had to step in and ask the players to play nice, since the game was being constantly stopped by unnecessary fouls.
Colombia then took control of the game and had several chances forcing Uruguay into an even more aggressive style of play, where they resorted to nasty fouls in order to slow down the Colombian attack. This wretched technique warranted contempt from the stands towards the Charrua side that was hanging in there just by a thread.
Napoli defender, Juan Zúñiga, took control of the Colombian march towards Uruguay's last quarter of field, where his presence was felt by the Uruguayans, who left a part of themselves on the field trying to stop the powerful player from getting ahead in the scoreboard.
But Uruguay's luck wouldn't last long and in the 28th minute, AS Monaco attacking midfielder, and one of the most astonishing players of this edition of the World Cup, James Rodriguez, curled in a powerful screamer into the top left corner of Muslera's box. The Ligue 1 star, chested the ball in the center outside the box and volleyed it into the corner with magisterial technique.
This goal shows great resemblance to the one Maxi Rodriguez scored against Mexico in the round of 16 match of the 2006 World Cup, when Jose Pekerman was the head coach of Argentina. Now history repeats itself 8 years later, as Pekerman watches from the sidelines how one more of his players brands himself into the World Cup history books.
After James' damning goal, Uruguay seemed crushed and ready to go back to the dressing rooms in order to count their dead and redefine their lines for the second half. Colombia maintained possession throughout the last minutes of the game, allowing their midfielders to control the ball and approach Uruguay's last quarter with ease.
There was a feeling that Colombia could have done much more damage during the first 45 than they did, but Uruguay had their part in holding the score at 1-0.
The second half didn't smile upon the Charrua side who needed something close to a miracle in order to turn the game around. Only 4 minutes into the second half, James Rodriguez would put the Uruguayan hopes even more far out of reach, after Fiorentina's midfielder Juan Guillermo Cuadrado headed a pass from an air cross to James Rodriguez who was standing in the 6-yard line, and only had to delicately push it by Jose Gimenez and Fernando Muslera in order to double his country's lead.
This was the 22-year old's 5th goal in the tournament and now leads all scorers. Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Thomas Muller follow with four a piece.
The scared look of impending elimination was ever present in the Uruguayan eyes who started to play clumsily, letting their desperation show.
Oscar Tabarez tried three different options in order to give this game a twist, by giving Gaston Ramírez, Abel Hernández and Christian Stuani their chance to shine in three positions that were occupied by Alvaro Pereira, Diego Forlan and Alvaro Gonzalez. But besides handing Uruguay three different sets of new lungs, there was nothing that the subs could do in order to take the match into their control. Colombia was fixed in the midfield and defense, and there was little that Uruguay could do to penetrate the Colombia defense by ground play.
The Charruas tried to surprise Colombia from the sides with airplay, but Ospina's quick and prompt reflexes, hatched down the Uruguayan intentions.
In the 76th minute, Pablo Armero started to cramp up, and as he requested for medical assistance, he was tackled down by a cowardly behind kick courtesy of Gaston Ramirez who got away with murder, even though it was Diego Lugano from the bench who got carded for an out of place protest that was completely unnecessary.
With 6 minutes left on the clock, James Rodriguez left the field for Adrian Ramos under a standing ovation. His uncompromising leadership has been the driving force behind Colombia's success this tournament and his brace has opened the door to a quarterfinals game against a lackluster Brazil, who unconvincingly defeated Chile on penalty kicks in Fortaleza.
Source: David Flores / Soccerly.com
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