A second-half attacking master class from Jackson Martinez and substitute James Rodriguez obliterated Japan's wafer-thin hopes of progressing to the last 16 of the World Cup as Colombia eliminated the Asian champions with a 4-1 win in their final Group C match on Tuesday.
Juan Cuadrado put the already qualified South Americans ahead from the penalty spot before Shinji Okazaki kept Japan in contention by heading an equalizer on the stroke of halftime.
But Japan fell behind as Martinez struck his first on 55 minutes, and after going for broke Samurai Blue suffered a fatal blow when Martinez made it 3-1 in the 82nd.