Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez has stated that he was not surprised by Colombia's brilliant performance during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Under the tutelage of the wily old Jose Pekerman, Colombia enjoyed a dream run in the World Cup and were unlucky to be eliminated by hosts Brazil in the Quarter Finals.

Villa midfielder, Sanchez, was an integral part of the side and has stated that while Los Cafeteros surprised many with their performance in Brazil, he fully expected his side to do well.

"I don't mean this in a big-headed way but we didn't surprise ourselves at the World Cup," Sanchez said.

"Before going to the World Cup we didn't think 'we're going to get to the final or the quarter-finals or whatever'. We just went game by game, we had the mentality that if we won every game it would take care of itself. Because of this we weren't surprised.

"My job was to provide the balance, to win the ball back and try to link up with the more offensive players, James (Rodriguez), (Juan) Cuadrado, so they could go and do the things they are capable of, open up defences and get the goals. It was an important role for the team."