Colombia are through to the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history after beating Uruguay 2-0 at the Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro this evening.
A double from James Rodriguez did the damage as Jose Pekerman's Los Cafeteros set up a final eight clash with hosts Brazil in Fortaleza on July 4.
Colombia have now recorded four wins from four outings this World Cup, scoring 11 goals and conceding only two, to put themselves right in the mix while Uruguay bow out at the Round of 16 without the banned Luis Suarez.
Colombia had controlled a majority of the opening of the match and their dominance paid off when Rodriguez struck with an absolutely outstanding goal in the 28th minute.
The Monaco man controlled a header from Abel Aguilar with his chest before turning and hammering a perfectly-timed volley in off the underside of the crossbar with his killer left foot from just outside the 'D'.
The goal will certainly rival Australian star Tim Cahill's volley in their 3-2 loss to Holland in the group stages as the best goal this tournament.
Uruguay applied some semblance of pressure after conceding but early in the second half they found themselves two down when Rodriguez struck for a second time.
It was an irresistible team goal by the Colombians which ended in Pablo Armero floating a deadly ball cross-field to the back post where Juan Cuadrado managed to produce an unselfish centred header for Rodriguez to half-volley home from the edge of the six-yard box.
It was Rodriguez's fifth goal of the cup, to go with two assists, as he continues his brilliant breakout tournament while the electric Cuadrado notched his fourth assist.
Late in the game, Uruguay desperately attempted to attack as the minutes ticked over and were much more aggressive in the final third.
Colombia keeper David Ospina was forced into a number of key saves by Alvaro Gonzalez (late in the first half), Cristian Rodriguez, Cristhian Stuani and Maxi Pereira but the Uruguayans were unable to find an answer.
A confident Colombian outfit will now head north to Fortaleza to take on the Brazilians, who drew 0-0 with Mexico there in the group stage, following the hosts' penalty shootout win over Chile this afternoon.
The Colombian fans will be riding the wave of euphoria after their beloved side produced their best-ever World Cup result and they certainly have the game style to take up to Brazil who went 120 minutes with the Chileans in Belo Horizonte.
2014 FIFA World Cup - Round of 16
Colombia: 2 (James Rodriguez 28'/50') Uruguay: 0
Estadio do Maracana, Rio de Janeiro - 73,804
Yellow cards:COL - Pablo Armero 78' URU - Jose Gimenez 55', Diego Lugano 77'
