Colombia have all but booked their place in the next round with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast in Group C at the World Cup this evening.

Goals from James Rodriguez and Juan Quintero gave the South American team the lead before Gervinho pulled one back for the African side.

Depending on the other result in Group C today, Colombia may confirm their progression from the group before their third game.

Here, Sports Mole looks back at the match and analyses the key moments.

Match statistics

Colombia
Shots: 11
On target: 6
Possession: 45%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 11

Ivory Coast
Shots: 13
On target: 3
Possession: 55%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 14

Was the result fair?

Possibly not, Ivory Coast were sensational for the final 20 minutes and probably should have found the equaliser. It was a couple of careless errors from the African nation that gave Colombia their lead, but they certainly had the majority of the chances in the second half and would have been good value for a point.

Colombia's performance

Colombia looked confident on the attack from the start with James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadradro proving a formidable pairing, although they did not make the most of their opportunities in the first half. However, their defenders appeared to tire in the second half, allowing Ivory Coast far too much time and space, which could have cost them the win.

Ivory Coast's performance

Ivory Coast did not look too dangerous in the first half, creating just a couple of chances, but were fantastic after the break. Gervinho led the attack, creating opportunities and taking on shots himself, while Yaya Toure was a constant threat. However, Wilfried Bony was below par, seeing little of the ball. Their defenders struggled at times, with right-back Souleymane Bamba in particular making a couple of mistakes that could have handed Colombia a goal. They will need to improve at the back if they are to progress from the group.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Juan Cuadrado: The Colombia midfielder seemed to be involved in every attacking move by the South Americans, including delivering the corner to Rodriguez for the opening goal. He carved his way through the Ivory Coast defenders with ease in the first half as their opponents seemed to have no answer for his pace and control. The only thing missing from his performance was a goal.

Biggest gaffe

While there were quite a few defensive errors throughout, it was a poor finish from Teofilo Gutierrez in the first half which really stuck out. The striker was left with only the keeper to beat for the opening goal of the match following some good build-up play by Rodriguez and Cuadrado, but he somehow completely mis-hit the finish, sending it well wide.

Referee performance

Howard Webb did not have too many big decisions to make during his first World Cup match since the final four years ago. The Ivory Coast players were a little unhappy when only four minutes of stoppage time were played, but it was on otherwise uneventful 90 minutes for the Englishman.

What next?

Colombia: The Colombians will wait to see if Greece can avoid defeat to Japan later today, which would ensure their place in the next round. Then it will be a match against Japan on Tuesday.

Ivory Coast: The African side can still make the knockout stages, but will need other results to go their way, as well as avoiding defeat against Greece in their final group game in five days' time.

Written by
Sian Cowper