James Rodriguez rounded off a convincing 3-0 win for Colombia over
Greece as the South American side made light of the absence of injured
talismanic striker Radamel Falcao in their opening Group C match at the
World Cup finals on Saturday in Belo Horizonte.
Full-back Pablo Armero had given the Colombians -- appearing at their
first finals since 1998 -- the lead in the fifth minute and with the
Greeks offering little in attack while Teofilo Gutierrez's 13th goal for
his country shortly before the hour mark wrapped up the three points.
Rodriguez, nicknamed the 'new kid' as he is seen as the successor to
legend Carlos Valderrama whose nickname was 'the kid', rounded off an
impressive performance with a sweet left footed shot in time added on.
Armero's goal was the fastest in Colombia's five appearances at a World
Cup finals, beating the 19 minutes it took another defender Francisco
Zuluaga to score against Uruguay in the 1962 finals in Chile.
The other two sides in the group the talented but ageing Ivory Coast and Japan meet later on Saturday in Recife.
>> Match Highlights <<
Monday, June 16, 2014
WORLD CUP 2014: Colombia 3 - 0 Greece
3:14 AM
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