A sensational display from James Rodriguez fired Colombia into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time on Saturday with the attacking midfielder scoring twice in a 2-0 victory over Uruguay including a contender for goal of the tournament.

Rodriguez became the World Cup's top scorer with five goals and, based on comparative second-round displays, a buoyant Colombia will fancy its chances against its next opponent Brazil, which squeezed past Chile on penalty kicks earlier in the day.

Rodriguez, who looks years younger but turns 23 on July 12, the day before the World Cup final, epitomized everything that was good about Colombia's confident performance against Uruguay, which struggled without its banned talismanic striker Luis Suarez.