RIO DE JANEIRO — His name is James, but he pronounces it Hahm-ez, and that was the way the Colombian fans shouted it on Saturday night. They have been singing James Rodríguez’s praises all along, in fact, but in the flurry of goals and teams and story lines in this World Cup, there was a chance a few people had not yet noticed Rodríguez. Everyone knows him now.
Rodríguez scored two more goals — giving him five at this World Cup — in a 2-0 victory over Uruguay that sent Colombia to the quarterfinals for the first time. Things become tougher now, to be sure, with a matchup against host Brazil on Friday in Fortaleza. But with Rodríguez having scored in each of Colombia’s games, and with Brazil struggling past Chile on penalty kicks earlier Saturday, anything seems possible.
“We’re very happy because we’re making history,” Rodríguez said. “We want to do even more.”
