REVIEW: Columbia Dances a Happy Tune

Columbia will be the third team to advance to the Round of 16, joining Chile and Netherlands. El Cafetero booked their ticket to the knockout round after defeating Ivory Coast 2-1 in a match that Nike advertisers could not have written better. There were fancy dribbling, explosive runs, sharp passing, eye-opening misses, and breathtaking goals that made this match something even casual fans would love.

While Brazil has failed to put on a memorable show, Columbia has stolen A Selecao’s blueprint for the Joga Bonito as they produced two lovely goals by James Rodriguez and Juan Quintero. Ivory Coast put their athleticism and tenacity on full display, but despite their strong effort, they only had a goal by Gervinho to show for it.

Juan Cuadrado almost broke the opening score in the 59th minute when he received a pass from Quintero in the box and put Arthur Boka in a daze with a series of stepovers to get past him. Unfortunately, Cuadrado’s shot was tipped by Boubacar Barry to the far post.

However, in the 64th minute, Columbia scored the opening goal off a header from James Rodriguez. Cuadrado placed a corner from the left to Rodriguez who was running full sprint from the edge of the box to give his country a 1-0 lead.

Six minutes later, Columbia doubled it’s lead off a counter attack led by Teo Gutierrez. After stealing possession in the middle of the pitch, Gutierrez led the charge down the middle and found a streaking Quintero at the right who then ran the ball into the box and scored the second goal.

Ivory Coast was not done, as Gervinho broke past two defenders from the left wing, did a stutter step to put Carlos Sanchez on his seat, and dribbled into the box for a shot at goal to cut Columbia’s lead by a half.

Les Elephants will play their final group match against Greece June 24, with hopes of getting their second win to advance to the second round.

Man of the Match

Juan Cuadrado made a name for himself in this match, providing dangerous from the wings, making sharp runs off the ball, and flashing glimpses of vintage Ronaldinho with his dribbling. He notched an assist off an accurate corner kick to James Rodriguez and should have scored the opening goal in the 59th minute.

"Player RatingsColumbiaOspina 6.0 – Should have closed the angle on Gervinho’s shot.Zapata 7.5 – Pretty much ate Bony for dinner, and almost had Drogba for dessert.Yepes 7.5 – He might be old, but the cagey veteran proved to be a test for the Ivory Coast.Armero 7.0 – Could not venture out in the attack as much as he wanted to since he had to mark Gervinho. Wasn’t an easy job for him.Cuadrado 8.0 – Played well enough to merit a contract from a big European club.Rodriguez 7.5 – Struggled to get on the ball as often as he would like, but scored an important header nevertheless.Sanchez 6.0 – Had the tough task of defending Yaya Toure and got crossed up by Gervinho moments before his goal.Zuniga 6.0 – Forced to play more back than usual and had trouble dealing with Gradel. Was fortunate Ivory Coast didn’t run the ball through Gradel as much.Aguilar 6.5 – Stayed disciplined in the middle but should have done better with his passes.Gutierrez 6.5 – Aside from that counter-attack with Quintero, he was invisible today.Ibarbo 5.0 – I didn’t know he was playing today.SubstituteArias 5.0 – The floodgates opened for Aurier the moment he came on.Quintero 7.5 – The epitome of a supersub. Quintero provided dangerous runs up the middle and right side of the pitch and scored a much-deserved goal.Ivory CoastBarry 5.5 – Did all he could to hinder Columbia, but was ultimately helpless in Columbia’s two goals.Boka 5.5 – Struggled to contain CuadradoAurier 7.0 – Defense was suspect, but his contributions on the attack made up for it.Bamba 5.5 – Looked nervous throughout the match.Y. Toure 6.5 – Did a lot of work, but had nothing to show up for it.Serey Die 6.5 – Showed lots of energy in the first half but disappeared later in the match.Tiote 5.0 – Heavy touches kept him quiet throughout the match.Zokora 6.0 – A proven ball-winner whose day was spoiled by the yellow cardBony 4.0 – Kept at bay the entire match.Gervinho 8.0 – Was an absolute terror to the Columbian defense. Looked more like his A.S. Roma self in the second half.Gradel 6.0 – Looked dangerous in certain runs, but was invisible for most of the match.SubstitutesDrogba 6.0 – Looked dangerous in certain runs but didn’t have a good look at goal.Kalou 5.5 – Badly missed a good shot at goal.Bolly 5.5 – Barely made an impact."

Tweets of the Match