Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Brazil vs Colombia World Cup 2014 preview: Who will be king - James Rodriguez or Neymar?

The Brazilian has carried the host nation, Colombia’s top scorer has been the best player so far – but only one will be left standing after Friday

Jack Pitt-Brooke

Thursday 03 July 2014 09:51 BST

Will it all come down to Neymar (left) vs James Rodriguez?

Two of the stars of the tournament come face to face in the quarter-final in Fortaleza. Here, we compare them...

World Cup so far...

NEYMAR

The Brazilian has had to bear unimaginable pressure – carrying a dysfunctional team through a home World Cup they are expected to win – and has done so with remarkable calm. In Brazil’s first game against Croatia, he dragged them through, with a long-range equaliser and the penalty to go ahead. He scored the first two against Cameroon and then, facing Chile in the last 16, he took the crucial fifth penalty, stuttering and feinting and sending Claudio Bravo the wrong way.

Every time it seems as if Neymar is about to slip or buckle, he produces something else to keep the national dream alive.

JAMES

James Rodriguez, though, has been the player of the tournament. He is not only the top scorer, with five goals, but has played well in every match, and seemingly better each time. James excelled against Greece, making one and scoring another, he headed the first against Ivory Coast and then came on at half-time against Japan, completing the 4-1 win with a delightful shimmy and chip.

All of which was just throat-clearing for his last-16 performance against Uruguay, when he scored the goal of the tournament so far – a glance, chest down, spin and volley all in one movement – before tapping in the second.

Ability...

NEYMAR

Hailed almost from birth as the next great product of Santos, Neymar has always been a very obvious talent. Like all of the great Brazilian players, he has footwork faster, more imaginative and more precise than anyone else on the pitch. Not naturally strong, but lithe and quick, he can dance past players with the ball glued to his feet.

When still at Santos, Neymar scored a goal against Flamengo – 3.2 million views on YouTube and counting – which seemed to display every skill you could want in a footballer: pace, balance, technique and flair, and all perfectly executed at high speed.

JAMES

Just as precocious as Neymar, and six months older, James was already famous at 12 after winning a televised tournament in Colombia for his first club, Envigado. Like Neymar, James is blessed with preternatural technical ability and a first touch which takes opponents out of the game.

James has a slightly different build from Neymar, stockier and stronger, and harder to push off the ball. He is not quite as fast as the Brazilian but does have a burst to take him away from opponents. It is the ability to see the pitch as if watching from above, though, which sets James apart, and allows him to direct games for his team.

Colombia's James Rodriguez celebrates one of his goals

Role...

NEYMAR

Able to play anywhere across the front line, Neymar is a puckish free spirit and the only player to deliver anything exciting in Luiz Felipe Scolari’s slightly turgid Brazil side. He has been shifted around, popping up on the left, right or through the middle, while those around him have looked limited and predictable.

This has suited his game well, allowing him to seek out the spaces where he can do the most damage. It also fits well with his old role at Santos, where he had the freedom of the park. It is only at Barcelona, where he has to fit into a more rigid system, that Neymar has struggled.

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Show all 10

1/10World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

James Rodriguez

The player who has most seized this World Cup, and thereby most seized attention. James might have been a marvellous talent on the radar of top clubs before this tournament, and the £38m Monaco paid last summer reflected his potential, but the 22-year-old has simply moved onto a different level. It is quite a quirk that Manchester United could have got him for £5m back in 2010, because he could command anything up to £80m now. Real Madrid are believed to be leading the chase. Rodriguez has set quite a pace.

Getty Images

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Guillermo Ochoa

Was his display against Brazil the outstanding performance of the first round? Given the stakes, the pressure, and the extent of the siege, there is certainly an argument for it. Either way, there seems little argument that Ochoa has been the outstanding goalkeeper of the tournament so far. The sheer number of high-profile high-quality saves that the 28-year-old produced are in stark contrast to what has been a humble club career, having spent three years at lowly Ajaccio. Last season, they got relegated to Ligue 2. This summer, he should have earned a move to a better level.

Getty Images

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Alexis Sanchez

All of a sudden, it seems ludicrous that Barcelona would consider selling Alexis, let alone use him as a mere makeweight on a deal to bring someone else in. The Chilean may have been largely under-whelming in his three years at Camp Nou, but this World Cup re-asserted why they initially signed him, as well as what kind of player he can be when used correctly. The two goals against Spain and Brazil were a display of his elite finishing, the pace that brought them the kind of dynamic play top clubs crave.

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Karim Benzema

On top of the world right now, but also someone that finds himself in a similar situation to Alexis: Real Madrid would gladly bring in what they perceive to be a better forward, but he has used this tournament to illustrate the folly of that. Benzema has been one of the best players of the first four games, combining clutch finishing with classy build-up play that has been central to France’s joyful resurgence as a world force again. He has also enjoyed his own resurgence. Benzema is finally looking like the devastating talent that Real first signed for so much money. He could command a similar figure again.

Getty Images

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Vincent Enyeama

It was the 31-year-old goalkeeper’s error that ultimately cost Nigeria the last-16 game against France, but that was all the more conspicuous because he had been so solid before then. In fact, it was arguably Enyeama’s supreme late save against Bosnia and Herzegovina that brought Nigeria so far, given the ultimately slim margin with which they won that game 1-0 and then qualified. It was not the only such stop, and even the 2-0 defeat to France saw plenty of defiance. Lille can expect some interest.

Getty images

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Islam Slimani

Algeria were one of the most progressive teams of the opening four games, and Slimani their brightest player. Just turned 26, his career has shown a steady upward curve, moving from CR Belouizdad to Sporting Lisbon in 2013, and now making his ability all the more widely known. The two goals in four World Cup games also mark a superior scoring ratio to recent seasons, and the type of productivity he should be offering as he approaches his prime. Slimani looks ready for one of Europe’s primary leagues.

Getty images

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Daryl Janmaat

Beyond the three established stars of Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben, it is Daryl Janmaat who almost personifies the youthful nature of this Netherlands team. He is 24, still based at home with Feyenoord, and is one of their many defenders that has impressed in this tournament with his maturity. Janmaat has arguably made himself the pick of them, especially for the solid consistency he has demonstrated throughout, as well as the way he allows a more counter-attacking Dutch side to turn defence into attack. It won’t be too long until he personifies this team in another way: moving abroad.

Getty images

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Miralem Pjanic

The Roma midfielder’s easy talent was widely known before this tournament, but perhaps the key is that he’s applied it in difficult circumstances. Out of a Bosnia and Herzegovina side that almost totally under-performed and went out in such disappointing fashion, Pjanic was one of a handful players – as well as Muhamed Besic – that played above his level. A host of top European clubs were interested in the 24-year-old before this World Cup. They will now have to pay even more than anticipated.

Getty images

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Bryan Ruiz

To think that this was a player Fulham have been all too happy to discard, banishing him on loan to PSV Eindhoven last season. Of course, much of that was the fault of Ruiz himself . He looked conspicuously lazy in a team full of languid attackers. That appears to have revitalised him. Ruiz has been the driving force of Costa Rica’s historic tournament. It was not just about the goals he scored that brought such momentous results against Italy and Greece. It is also about the touches and technique, as he’s now really doing what a player of his talent should. Fulham can surely earn a much higher price now.

Getty Images

World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil

Ricardo Rodriguez

With the way he surges forward from full-back, the 21-year-old has epitomised the adventurous and brave nature of this impressive Swiss team, and he has proven so productive in their energetic attacks. The exceptional Xherdan Shaqiri has particularly benefited from the space that Rodriguez spots and creates. That follows on from the nine assists he cleverly created for Wolsfburg last season. Having already spent two years in the Bundesliga after a move from Zurich, he has undoubtedly displayed that he is prepared for a higher level.

Getty images

JAMES

James Rodriguez is a brilliantly imaginative player but has a slightly more conventional take on the No 10 role. Manager Jose Pekerman has used him as the creative heart of a 4-2-3-1 system, behind the frontman, allowing the team to make up for the absence of the injured Radamel Falcao. It is a similar role to the one he has at Monaco, at the tip of a diamond midfield.

Earlier in his career, at Banfield and Porto, James played out on the left wing. He did not always enjoy the defensive side of that role, and is more influential through the middle.

Neymar and Scolari after Brazil beat Chile on penalties (GETTY IMAGES)

Experience...

NEYMAR

Before last season at Barcelona, Neymar had won almost every major competition he played in. He opted to stay loyal to Santos for longer than he needed to, leaving for Spain at the age of 21. By then he had won three state championships, one Brazilian cup and the Copa Libertadores. With Brazil – for whom he has 53 caps and 35 goals already – he won the 2013 Confederations Cup, dazzling on the biggest stage of his career.

Neymar’s first year at Barcelona was, understandably, a learning curve. The team won nothing and he was not a regular starter, sitting on bench for the title decider against Atletico Madrid.

JAMES

Unlike Neymar, James came to Europe early, leaving Banfield for Porto when he was still 18. He had won an Argentinian title there – Banfield’s only one – and went on to take three consecutive Portuguese championships with his new club and the 2011 Europa League. From there he went to Monaco, experiencing a new league but winning nothing.

James had to do some adjusting after both those moves but plays now with the nous and experience of someone well trained in elite-level European football. He has 26 international caps, less than half of Neymar’s haul, but does seem to have benefited from a longer spell in Europe.

(Getty Images)

Prospects...

NEYMAR

Neymar is already on the brink of a global stardom which only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo can match. He is three wins away from winning a World Cup for the host nation almost single-handedly which, on the scale of meaningful football achievements, would be near the very top.

Although he plays for Barcelona, the world’s most famous club, he feels – unlike Messi – to be his nation’s property more than Barça’s. He will have work to do to settle into Luis Enrique’s team next season, and to win the Champions League, but that all feels less important than this.

JAMES

For all his achievements in the game, James is far less recognisable than Neymar – he has 2.7 million Twitter followers, to the Brazilian’s 12 million. If he does not win the World Cup in the next 10 days, he may never do so. But he feels like the player likely to make the bigger impact on the top level of European club football. He would probably be a better fit at Barcelona than Neymar, as a long-term Andres Iniesta replacement, although he has expressed a preference for Real Madrid. Whatever happens tomorrow night, there will be far more trophies left for him to win.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies