As expected, a Suarez-less Uruguay faced many problems against a tough Colombian squad. Uruguay was not the same team we saw in the group stage. It was obviously a strong blow for the Uruguayan squad as Suarez was just recently suspended for 9 months due to biting an Italy defender, Giorgio Chiellieni.

And of course, Colombia took advantage over Uruguay; the game was decided well before 90^th minute mark.

Right from the get-go Colombia was able to control and dominate the ball.  It was only until the 28^th minute when hope started to diminish for Uruguay as Colombia went up 1-0; James Rodriguez struck a beautiful long distance goal right outside the penalty box and he was able to get his fourth goal in the 2014 World Cup.

Uruguay tried to answer back to Colombia’s first goal before halftime but they failed. Cavani, who played in Suarez’s position, was targeted many times by his teammates in order for him to strike a goal. Unfortunately, Colombia was playing tough defense to play out the first half and allowed only 1 shot on target for Uruguay.

Uruguay also displayed a strong presence of a very loose defense before the half. Colombia was able to dominate the possession of the ball and had 7 shots, including their first goal, in only the first half.

As the second half kicked off, Colombia came out aggressive and hungry for another goal. It took only five minutes for Colombia to score again in the 50^th minute mark. James Rodriguez was able to score his second goal in the match off an assist from Juan Cuadrado. Rodriguez now leads the 2014 World Cup with 5 goals.

After Uruguay went down 2-0, panic came into play for their squad. Uruguay midfielder, Diego Forlán started showing his frustration as he got into a confrontation with Mario Yepes from Colombia, but the two players did not commit any fouls towards each other.

As the 2^nd half went on, Uruguay went into attack mode and they were able to get off to a total of 12 shots in the second half (only 3 on target) but  no goals.

It was  obvious to see that Uruguay was able to control the ball more and had many chances to score late in the second half but it was too little too late. Uruguay made too many defensive mistakes early in the match and it cost them the game.

At the 90^th minute mark, Columbia was able to shutout Uruguay and they kept the score at 2-0. Columbia will now advance to their first World Cup Quarter Final ever. They will face the hosts of the 2014 World Cup, Brazil.

Chris Zacherl may be reached at [email protected].