Juan Cuadrado: 'James Rodriguez a phenomenon'

Colombia's Juan Cuadrado has backed teammate and rising youngster James Rodriguez to shine as they prepare to face Brazil in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

The AS Monaco man has been in impressive form throughout the tournament and capped off his dominance with a standout goal in Colombia's last-16 win over Uruguay.

"[James] is a great player, a phenomenon as they say here, who brings a lot to the national team," Cuadrado said, according to ESPN.

"He has shown his style really well. I believe that the support he has from all of his teammates has helped him relax and given him the confidence he needs to show his best.

"He can do something big in any moment because we know he is a phenomenon."

Colombia meet Brazil at the Estadio Castelao on Friday night at 9pm (UK time).