James Rodriguez scored his third goal in as many games as Colombia cruised into the knockout stages of the World Cup with a 4-1 rout of Japan.
Colombia, who are one of the dark horses of the tournament, finished top of Group C with a maximum 9 points with an impressive nine goals and Rodriguez contributing to the tally in every game.
If Colombia can maintain their impressive form they will certainly give their South American rivals Uruguay a run for their money in the round of 16. Uruguay will no doubt be considered the favourites but in reality it is a very tough one to call! Everyone always talks about the likes of Brazil and Argentina, so why not give Colombia a chance! After all this World Cup is already becoming known for being one where we can expect the unexpected.
As if the game was played to a script, Colombia unsurprisingly took the lead when Juan Cuadrado fired home a penalty after 17 minutes but Japan kept alive their slim hopes of qualifying with a header from Shinji Okazaki in the dying seconds of the first half.
Normal service was resumed within 10 minutes of the restart as Jackson Martinez scored from close range with the first of his two goals. Then came a pass I could watch again and again and again, as Rodriguez's sublime assist released Martinez to put Colombia in total control with eight minutes remaining.
Colombia coach Jose Pekerman then added his own touch of class to the occasion. With the result already beyond doubt he decided to give substitute goalkeeper Faryd Mondrago a run out for the final five minutes, allowing the 43-year-old to become the oldest player at a World Cup finals. Maybe not quite the record you want if you could take your pick of any, but a great landmark all the same and one the shot stopper can be proud of.
The goals weren't finished yet either as Rodriguez continued his fine run of goal scoring form with an exquisite chip a minute from time. The 22-year-old looks set to be a global star and will no doubt be wanted by many top clubs, although Monaco will not want to lose their star winger.
BBC football pundit Mark Lawrenson said: "If he'd had a blue and white Argentinian shirt on everyone would be raving about that," and he has a point. Whilst he may not have reached the heights of Messi just yet, he could get there one day if his performances at this tournament are anything to go by. I'm not saying he will become Messi but he certainly has the potential to be a World beater and many will no doubt follow his career with increased interest from now on.
With Colombia safely through as group winners, and Japan crashing out at the bottom, it was up to Ivory Coast and Greece to battle it out for the runners up spot.
Before kick-off Ivory Coast seemed to be the favourites to progress as they needed just a point to reach the knockout stages, but Greece had other ideas. Greece haven't hit the dizzy heights that saw them win Euro 2004, neither have they done much to particularly impress in Brazil. The Greeks were also bottom of Group C going into the game and, after being forced to make two substitutions inside the first 25 minutes luck certainly looked against them. Yet here we are talking about them reaching the round of 16 of a World Cup for the first time in their history.
It's not all about flashy football, it's about results and the Greeks have done just about enough. Greece had failed to score a goal at the 2014 World Cup before substitute Andreas Samaris made the most of a poor touch by Cheick Tiote to put them ahead three minutes before the break.
Gervinho set up Wilfried Bony to level the scores after 74 minutes and, with the game entering injury-time, Greece were actually set to exit the tournament. That was until Georgios Samaras fired home a controversial late penalty to break Ivorian hearts and send Greece into a dreamland.
Does a team that failed to score in two of their three group games really deserve to be in the knockout stages of a major tournament? The answer doesn't really matter because they are and nothing can change that fact, although they will have to dramatically up their game against Costa Rica.
Ivory Coast, on the other hand, will feel hard done by as there didn't appear to be too much wrong in the incident that led to the penalty which ultimately cost them a place in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Ivory Coast are undoubtedly bitterly disappointed and have now gone out in the group stages in each of the last three World Cup, while their coach Sabri Lamouchi has resigned from his post.
It was a truly dramatic end to Group C and again it was a tale of expecting the unexpected. How Greece came from bottom of the group to sneaking into the round of 16 with a last-gasp goal I'll never know but it is a truly remarkable story. It is unlikely the Greeks will progress too much further but it would also be dangerous to write them off...we have already spoken about what happened in 2004!
Let the drama continue!
Come on the underdogs!
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