Colombia vs. Greece, 2014 World Cup: Cafeteros crush the Greeks

Greece saw much of the ball from then to the final whistle, though Colombia keeper Ospina never had a save to make. They were hit on the counter-attack one final time in stoppage time, when wunderkind Rodríguez found some space in the box and took full advantage, rolling the ball past Karnezis for 3-0.

Colombia will be satisfied if not overjoyed after a performance that was more functional than fun. Against Greece, you can’t really ask for much more.

I’ve never seen someone so upset by a bad pass while winning 2-0. They went on to add a third, by the way.

BREAKING NEWS: GREECE KICKED THE BALL TOWARDS THE GOAL.

Goals at the World Cup -- good. Sure, we like soccer. We like soccer a lot, and we like watching people score.

CELEBRATIONS at the World Cup -- great:

Colombia boss José Pekerman has elected to start Víctor Ibarbo up top alongside Teófilo Gutiérrez, with Carlos Bacca instead only on the bench. Otherwise, their lineup is as expected.

Greece will make it hard on them, though, utilizing their signature defensive style of play to frustrate Los Cafeteros. Don’t expect any kind of offensive explosion from the Greeks, but don’t be stunned if they make this interesting either.

Of course, the most exciting attacker of them all on Colombia -- Radamel Falcao -- isn’t available. But his teammates Teofilo Gutierrez and Carlos Bacca are exciting replacements, while creative dynamo James Rodriguez will be a lot for the Greeks to handle cutting in from the left flank.

Match date/time: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET

However, it might not be quite as easy as they expect.

When Colombia face off against Greece, they should do so with memories of the European Championships a decade ago in mind. Back in 2004 Otto Rehhagel’s side stunned the football world by pulling off their first ever major tournament win, and 10 years later, coach Fernando Santos is continuing Rehhagel’s legacy of gritty, disciplined, defensive football. Greece will no doubt be stubborn opponents once again.

Colombia have put together a very good side at this World Cup, and even though they’re missing their best player through injury, Radamel Falcao, they’re amply-stocked for strikers so it shouldn’t worry them too much. They’re blessed in most areas of the pitch, but particularly in attack, and they like to get the ball forward quickly and try and score as many goals as possible. They’re a lot of fun, and as well as being a dark horse for the tournament they should be favoured by the neutrals.

Formation-wise, it’s probable that they’ll play a fairly straightforward 4-4-2, vaguely reminiscent of Atletico Madrid if you were watching their escapades this season, looking to keep a fairly solid midfield and use width and their two strikers to get the job done. It’s simple, but effective, and it can be beautiful, and it’ll be very difficult to stop.