AP, Cuiaba :
With or without Luis Suarez, Uruguay faces a serious challenge keeping the Colombia juggernaut at bay in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Inspired by a brilliant cameo performance off the bench from James Rodriguez, the Colombians completed a near-perfect group-stage campaign with a 4-1 win over Japan on Tuesday that eliminated the Asian champions from the tournament.
Nine goals. Three straight victories. The unearthing of one of the stars of the tournament in the brilliant Rodriguez.
It can’t get much better for a team written off by many before the World Cup because of the injury sustained by star striker Radamel Falcao.
“Managing to win three games makes us trust ourselves even more and makes us feel confident,” Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said. “We have shown we are a very tight group. Everyone now knows that we can play.”
Next up for Colombia is a South American derby against Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium. Suarez, Uruguay’s top striker, may miss that match if he is punished for appearing to bite an opponent during the team’s final group match against Italy earlier Tuesday. He wasn’t immediately charged by FIFA.
Given Colombia’s confidence right now, it won’t matter if Suarez is playing or not.
Even a virtual second-string team proved too much for Japan in humid Cuiaba, although a touch of class from Rodriguez certainly helped in the second half.
Within 10 minutes of going on as a substitute, Rodriguez had set up Jackson Martinez for the goal that put Colombia 2-1 ahead.
