Colombia Wins 2 Games in Single World Cup for 1st Time

With a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast on Thursday, Colombia have claimed two wins in a single World Cup for the first time ever, per ESPN FC.

Colombia, eighth in the FIFA World Rankings, defeated Greece 3-0 last Saturday thanks to goals from Pablo Armero, Teofilo Gutierrez and James Rodriguez. The win put them in the driver's seat atop Group C, and they successfully advanced to the knockout stage after defeating the Ivorians.

Rodriguez was back at it Thursday, scoring the opener in the 64th minute to mark his fourth goal in as many international games.

Colombia have made it out of the group stage just once in their four previous trips to the World Cup, doing so in Italy back in 1990. In the three trips where they failed to reach the knockout stage, Colombia won two matches, drew one and lost six.

Despite the high ranking, there was a major question regarding their chances in the tournament, as top striker Radamel Falcao failed to make the 23-man roster after tearing his ACL back in January. There was plenty of speculation that he may make it back in time, but he ultimately was left off due to a lack of match fitness after rehabbing the injury for six months.

Colombia will try to make it 3-of-3 in the group stage when they take on Japan Tuesday. If they can win the group, they will face the second-place finisher out of Group D, which will be either Italy or Uruguay.