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CUIABA, Brazil — It was an odd place to find three international footballers on the eve of a crucial World Cup game, inside a small hair salon located on the forecourt of a gas station on the outskirts of a remote Brazilian city.

But there they were, Nigeria stars Emmanuel Emenike, Kenneth Omeruo and Ahmed Musa, eager for a new style and colour touch-ups for the big match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“They are very vain,” said Dirce Cardoso, owner of the Salao de Beleza Aeroporto in southern Cuiaba. “They wanted to be pampered.”

So Cardoso obliged. She cancelled her other appointments, closed the salon and gave the footballers the full VIP treatment. Two of them got a Mohican and two of them had their hair dyed black.

Total cost: $71 — and Cardoso was even treated to a ticket for the match.

It seems like we have a new addition to the footballer’s pre-match routine — healthy meal, massage, a few media interviews... and a new haircut.

This World Cup has been a tournament full of goals, surprise results and breathtaking skills, but also some of the wackiest, most outrageous hairstyles you’ll find in sports.

Rat tails, mohicans, dreadlocks, braids, bleached blond, outlandish side-partings, the “Afro” — you name a hairstyle, and at least one player is certain to have had it. And it’s been the talk of Twitter during games.

Footballers appear to be preoccupied with their hair like never before.

“I found out that my haircut got quite a lot of people talking on social media,” France defender Mathieu Debuchy told The Associated Press, sporting a hairstyle that can best be described as shaved on the sides with of lizard-shaped comb-over/side-parting.

“So much the better if people talk and communicate about it. I feel good this way, I like it and that’s the main thing, no?”

Ever-changing hairstyles used to be domain of David Beckham, who experimented with the shaved head, the cornrows, the Fauxhawk and bleach-blond look, among others, in the blink of an eye. Now everyone is at it, and the styles are getting bolder and bolder.

Take Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, for example. The world player of the year had a different hairstyle for each of his three games at the World Cup — for the second, against the United States, he had a zig-zag-style engraving in the right side of his head.

Similarly, Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan had a blond No. 3 dyed into the side of his black hair to represent the number of his jersey that had been handed to him by his brother, Baffour.

“It’s my favourite number,” Gyan said. “It’s a powerful number.”

The Mohican is becoming increasingly popular among players and has been best demonstrated at the World Cup by enigmatic Italy striker Mario Balotelli, France midfielder Paul Pogba and Portugal’s Raul Meireles.

In fact, Meireles’ overall appearance has been one of the sights of the tournament, complementing his wacky hair with a bushy beard and tattoos that appear to cover almost all his body.

When Meireles and US midfielder Kyle Beckerman — famous for his messy dreadlocks — collided in a challenge during their teams’ group-stage match, it was more a clash of the haircuts. US Football posted on Twitter: “Dreads vs. Mohawk/Beard” with a photo.

A combination of boredom, vanity, football being increasingly fashionable and maybe even the influence of sponsors means that players are becoming more daring with their styles.

“I love that they all have their unique styles,” Cardoso said. “They all are very modern. I wouldn’t choose one over the other.

“This year, everything looks kind of strange. But it’s normal. It’s about being young and different. It’s beautiful.”

Here are five of the craziest hairstyles at the World Cup:

Rodrigo Palacio, Argentina: With his shaved head except for a rat’s tail at the back, Palacio arguably has the most jaw-dropping haircut at the World Cup.

Raul Meireles, Portugal: His Mohawk has been compared to the one sported by Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver” His thick beard and all-over body tattoos add to his scary-looking appearance.

Marouane Fellaini, Belgium: The king of the football “Afro” but maybe not for much longer. Fellaini has vowed to chop it all off if Belgium wins the World Cup.

Kyle Beckerman, United States: Let his curly hair go wild after leaving home some years ago. Now Beckerman looks like the US squad’s very own Bob Marley.

Paul Pogba, France: Not satisfied with having a bleached line through his Mohawk, Pogba also has two bleached stripes on the shaved sides.

RIO DE JANEIRO — The World Cup still has Lionel Messi. Tim Howard is heading home despite a heroic display of goalkeeping.

A moment of Messi inspiration helped lift an unconvincing Argentina to a 1-0 win over Switzerland after extra time in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, creating the goal scored by Angel Di Maria in the 118th minute.

Howard’s stunning shot-stopping performance could not stop the Americans falling to a 2-1 extra-time loss against favoured Belgium that had a pulsating finale.

The veteran ‘keeper repelled most of Belgium’s 27 shots on target but was finally beaten by Kevin De Bruyne in the 93rd and substitute Romelu Lukaku in the 105th.

“He had an absolutely amazing match tonight and you just have to give him the biggest compliments in the world,” US coach Jurgen Klinsmann said.

Teenager Julian Green’s 107th-minute goal sparked concerted American pressure but they could not find a leveller to force a penalty shoot-out.

Argentina now faces Belgium in a quarter-finals line-up that is a sweep of the eight group winners. They start Friday with France vs. Germany in the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Anticipation was soured a little Tuesday by fixing allegations from earlier matches at the World Cup.

Cameroon’s football federation said it would investigate after the team’s integrity was questioned by a German magazine. Der Spiegel claimed convicted match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal correctly predicted in online exchanges with a reporter that Cameroon would lose 4-0 to Croatia and a player would be sent off before halftime.

“Yes, I have been told about this but let them do their work on this investigation,” FIFA President Sepp Blatter told reporters in Brazil on Tuesday.

Hours later, Perumal’s biographers issued a statement on his behalf denying all allegations.

Howard’s heroics in goal topped Messi in the doubleheader which closed second round.

After Messi scored in each of Argentina’s three group matches, Switzerland almost made good on its promise to shut down the four-time FIFA Player of the Year.

The Swiss certainly had the best first-half chances in Sao Paulo, created by their own mini-Messi, the equally tiny, powerful and left-footed forward Xherdan Shaqiri.

First, Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero stretched his left foot to block Granit Xhaka’s low shot, then stood up to gather a weak chipped shot by Josip Drmic.

“They had two clear chances and after that the match was ours,” Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said.

When Messi threatened, his scything volley skimmed over the Swiss crossbar and a low shot was parried by ‘keeper Diego Benaglio.

A shoot-out loomed until Messi broke free of pursuing Swiss defenders. He found Di Maria on the left side of the penalty box for a sweeping left-foot shot beyond Benaglio’s dive.

Argentina was then shaken in stoppage time when a close-range header by substitute Blerim Dzemaili hit the base of Romero’s right hand post. The rebound struck Dzemaili’s knee and went wide.

In Salvador, Howard was the US saviour from the first minute in a match of steadily rising tension on a warm, stamina-sapping evening.

A sprawling block to deny Divock Origi opened a duel with the teenage Belgian forward throughout regulation time.

Origi hit the crossbar with a header in the 56th minute and drew saves from one-on-one chances in the 71st and 85th minutes. Howard saved perhaps his best to keep out a Kevin Mirallas shot in the 76th.

In extra time, De Bruyne took advantage of chaos in the US defence to slide a shot past Howard’s dive. That chance was created by Lukaku’s fresh burst of energy and the striker — Howard’s teammate at Everton last season — powered in a second goal that seemed to seal the match.

Yet Green’s goal lifted tired legs and Clint Dempsey almost levelled the match when a neat free-kick routine left him eight metres from goal. Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois smothered Dempsey’s shot and sent the Americans out at the last-16 stage for the second straight World Cup.

Meanwhile in Rome, that goal from an Angel rewarded the faith of Pope Francis.

The first Pope from Argentina is a noted football fan — even meeting Messi and FIFA President Sepp Blatter last year — and the Vatican embraced the spirit of a clash against a country which has for centuries provided the Pontifical Swiss Guard.

A cartoon posted on the Vatican’s Twitter showed the pontiff wearing a blue and white Argentina scarf over his white cassock, watching on glumly as beer-swilling soldiers watch the match on television.

Switzerland’s defeat ended the career of its veteran German coach, who promised to retire after the tournament.

Hitzfeld’s farewell match kicked off hours after his 81-year-old brother, Winfried, died in a hospital in Basel, Switzerland.

“It was a great honour working for Switzerland,” said Hitzfeld. “I’m therefore proud to say goodbye to Switzerland with heart full of emotions.”

At age 35, Howard might have been playing for the last time at a World Cup, in his third tournament.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Howard said. “I don’t think we could have given it more.”

SAO PAULO — Angel Di Maria scored deep into extra time to give Argentina a 1-0 win over Switzerland and seal the South Americans a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Tuesday.

After a tense 0-0 draw at 90 minutes and a scoreless first period of extra time, Lionel Messi broke quickly and released Di Maria, who swept the ball home before wheeling away in delight.

Blerim Dzemaili almost saved the Swiss when his header hit the post but Argentina held on and now face a quarter-final with either Belgium or the United States, who play later on Tuesday.

Argentina had leaned heavily on Messi throughout the group stage, the number 10 scoring four of their six goals, and the forward was at the heart of their best work in the first half, prompting and prodding in front of the massed Swiss defence.

Switzerland, who was looking to return to the quarter-finals for the first time since hosting the tournament in 1954, went closest to scoring in a tight first half when impish playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri released Josip Drmic through on goal.

The tall striker shaped to shoot but wasted the opportunity with an ill-advised chip and Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero gathered comfortably.

With the score tied at 0-0 at halftime, the game then opened up in the second period as Argentina began to grab the momentum, and its blue and white clad fans brought the Corinthians arena to life, chanting and bouncing in unison.

The warning signs were flashing for Switzerland when Gonzalo Higuain went close with a header before Messi drove into the box and forced Diego Benaglio into a great save.

However, despite camping out in the Swiss half for long sections of the second half Argentina could not make the breakthrough and the 90 minutes ended scoreless.

Argentina looked the stronger side in extra time when Swiss legs began to tire and, just when it looked like Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson would call for a penalty shootout, Di Maria curled the ball past Benaglio to seal the late triumph.

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — A bullet from Bastian Schweinsteiger.

A prodigious effort from Philipp Lahm.

An on-target header from Thomas Mueller.

Algeria's unsung goalkeeper stopped everything that came his way for 91 minutes. And even when three-time champion Germany finally scored in extra time and went on to win 2-1 to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, Rais M'Bolhi was not at fault.

That was why Rais — which means leader in Arabic — was voted man of the match on Monday.

"We were ready," said M’Bolhi, who plays for Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia. "No one believed we would reach this stage."

It was the first time Algeria had reached the knockout phase after three previous appearances at the World Cup.

"We've entered the history of Algerian football," M’Bolhi said.

M’Bolhi, it should be remembered, had shined before at the World Cup.

Four years ago in South Africa, he kept a clean sheet during a 0-0 draw with England and conceded only one goal in two matches played — a stoppage-time score from Landon Donovan in a 1-0 loss to the United States.

Against Germany, M’Bolhi kept Algeria alive with save after save until the Germans finally broke through the northern African squad's weary defenders.

Fourteen minutes in, M’Bolhi stopped a blistering long-range effort from Schweinsteiger. In the 55th, Lahm unleashed a hard shot that an outstretched M’Bolhi pushed wide with his fingertips.

And in the 80th minute, M’Bolhi blocked a close-range header from Mueller, who had scored nine goals in his opening nine World Cup matches.

In all, M’Bolhi faced 22 shots, 16 of them on target.

"I'm not quite sure what we lacked," M’Bolhi said. "Eventually we conceded two goals. I don't know. We felt there was something to be done even though we were playing a great team like Germany."

If needed, Manuel Neuer can be a sweeper.

Often abandoned by his blundering defence, the Germany goalkeeper had to turn to unorthodox methods to save Germany from a stunning defeat against underdog Algeria at the World Cup.

Neuer was beaten once but Algeria's goal came as extra time ran out, too late to threaten Monday's 2-1 victory that sent the Germans to the World Cup quarter-finals for the ninth straight time.

"In the regular 90 minutes, we kept a blank sheet," Neuer said.

Only just, and only thanks to Neuer.

The Bayern Munich keeper made some fine saves on the line but his rushes far out of the penalty area, clearing the ball with his feet and even his head, had the fans on the edge of their seats.

His risky exits, however, are nothing new.

"I haven't changed my style," Neuer said. "I often play like that in Bayern or the national team."

He hasn't always been successful, but against Algeria he made no wrong move.

"Manuel was excellent, especially how he dealt with those long balls that were deep and dangerous," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "He cleared them all at the last second and that's his great contribution today."

Germany fans must have momentarily stopped breathing when Neuer ran out of the box to take over as the right back and foil Algeria's most dangerous forward, Islam Slimani, in the ninth minute.

In the 28th minute, Neuer rushed out to clear before Sofiane Feghouli got to the ball. And in the 71st, he raced out to head away a dangerous ball in front of Slimani.

Then there was a stunning save against Feghouli in the 89th minute that could have been Algeria's ticket to the quarter-finals.

But not with Neuer in, or even out, of goal.

RECIFE, Brazil –– Costa Rica proved on Sunday they were not just an exciting attacking team but could also defend when they knocked Greece out of the World Cup 5-3 on penalties after playing with 10 men for more than an hour.

The Central Americans took a page out of Greece’s book and beat the Europeans at their own ugly defensive game, matching them tackle for tackle and relying on several superb saves by man-of-the-match goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

The Greeks, playing in the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time, found themselves in the unusual position of having to attack as Costa Rica lured them into a false sense of security.

Long the underdogs at international tournaments, the Greeks took the bait, hook, line and sinker and Costa Rica proceeded to pick-pocket their ticket to the last eight for the first time with a disciplined defensive performance.

The Central Americans looked nothing like the sprightly aggressive team which beat former World Cup winners Italy and Uruguay in the group stage to progress as winners.

They relinquished possession and with lone forward Joel Campbell having to endure constant crunching tackles by the rugged Greek defenders, they were content to soak up pressure before hitting them on the break.

With the Greeks lured out of their defensive shell for the first time in years knowing that one goal could be enough to decide the match, Costa Rica struck when captain Bryan Ruiz scored after a fine move down the left wing.

They were reduced to 10 men when Oscar Duarte was sent off after a second booking but kept the Greeks at bay until a last-gasp equaliser sent the game into extra-time at 1-1.

There “Los Ticos” did exactly what Greece had been doing against stronger opponents for years, letting them come forward while waiting to strike on the counter.

They held on even as Greece coach Fernando Santos brought in two more forwards to finish the game in extra time and Navas saved their skin on several occasions.

He then stopped a penalty in the shootout to complete Costa Rica’s most memorable footballing moment which was undoubtedly not their prettiest.

With the prospect of facing attacking Netherlands in the quarter-finals, football fans around the world are relishing the clash and rejoicing that Greece were not the party-poopers yet again.

SALVADOR, Brazil –– Mexico defender Rafa Marquez stuck his foot out and Netherlands winger Arjen Robben went down for an injury-time penalty that took his team into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 win.

Did Robben dive or was he fouled by Marquez?

Or — to ask the fashionable question that evades the issue of whether it was actually a foul –– was there “contact”?

If there was contact, was it the result of the Mexican’s movement or Robben’s ability to connect with the defender?

Those are the judgments Portuguese referee Pedro Proenca had to make in the final seconds of an intense game played in baking heat in Fortaleza with a last-eight place on the line.

Who would be a referee?

Of course, the partisan took predictable positions on the incident but it was hard to find consensus among the neutrals.

It does not help that Robben has dived frequently in the past and had been clearly looking for a penalty in this game.

But then the Dutch could argue, with some justification, that he should have had a spot kick earlier in the game and also highlight how, not long before the penalty, he had skipped over a lunging Marquez as he tried, in vain, to score.

Of course, it could be pointed out that what previously happened should have no bearing whatsoever on Proenca’s evaluation of the incident.

Risk ‘contact’  

Critics would say Marquez was reckless or naive to stick out his foot with Robben moving away from goal, leaving Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to score the spot kick and put the Dutch through.

But the question now being asked is: Has the game reached the stage where a defender is not allowed to even attempt a tackle in the penalty area because it may risk “contact” that would justify a penalty kick?

The answer to the last question is yes, a defender, in modern football, cannot risk contact with an opponent in the penalty area because if it results in a fall, even an embellished one, the referee will probably give a penalty.

In the NBA it is called “drawing the foul” and is universally accepted, but modern football has not found the vocabulary for it nor the acceptance of the “dive after contact”.

The crucial difference is that in basketball the punishment for such fouls is a couple of free-throws with two points available in a game with a total of about 200 points scored.

In football, “drawing the foul” can — and does — decide the outcome.

Video technology is often presented as the solution for most refereeing problems but it offers little help in these cases.

When you listen to the modern professional player talk about such incidents they will accept that a player has “made the most of it” by falling but if there was some sort of contact an exaggerated collapse is now viewed as justified.

If the game is not happy with that state of affairs then it needs to do some hard thinking about how it might change the rules or their interpretation in order to deal with the problem.

The pendulum seems to have shifted too far in favour of the attacker in these situations and, while there is no obvious quick-fix solution, rewarding embellishment seems an unsatisfactory status quo.

BELO HORIZONTE — Having relied on Lionel Messi for most of its goals so far at this World Cup, Argentina is planning to find new ways of scoring in its second-round match against Switzerland on Tuesday.

Messi carried Argentina through the group stage, scoring four of its goals. The other two came from an own goal and left back Marcos Rojo.

With Sergio Aguero missing Tuesday’s match because of a left thigh injury, the Group F winners are looking to Ezequiel Lavezzi to step in — a challenge that assistant coach Claudio Gugnali said the Paris Saint-Germain forward is ready for.

“He’s a very powerful player and is in a great moment,” Gugnali said. “He finished his club season very well. He has been asking to be on the pitch since he came [to Brazil]. I don’t have any doubts that he will know how to take advantage of his opportunities.”

Lavezzi usually attacks down the wings, but also drops back to work in partnership with Argentina’s midfielders. The team will have to adapt its tactical formation a bit if Lavezzi starts.

Argentina is also wary of Switzerland’s attack and will have to shore up its shaky defence to deal with threats that include winger Xherdan Shaqiri, who scored a hat trick against Honduras in the final Group E match.

“Switzerland works very well on the flanks and attacks down the wings,” Gugnali said. “It’s going to be a very intense match.”

Switzerland also beat Ecuador in the group stage, but was overrun by France in a 5-2 defeat. For Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, the team’s qualification for the second round meant postponing his possible retirement. The German veteran, a two-time Champions League winner as a coach, has said this tournament will be his last.

Goalkeeper Diego Benaglio knows that beating Argentina will demand complete concentration by his teammates.

“We must remain highly focused, very disciplined, maintain our compactness, act extremely carefully,” Benaglio said. “The defensive work doesn’t begin with the defenders. Our attacker will be the first defender.”

Argentina is not taking anything for granted and won’t expect to roll over Switzerland in Sao Paulo.

“Everybody said we would score loads of goals in the group stage and it’s clear that didn’t happen,” midfielder Maxi Rodriguez said. “Our mentality is always the same: at a World Cup you have to be focused 100 per cent of the time. It’s true that big teams are still left on the way, but if you’re not concentrated any team can beat you.”

SAO PAULO –– Brazil’s players have Sunday off after an exhausting win over Chile but they will be back at work early on Monday when coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will start preparing for the World Cup quarter-final showdown with Colombia.

Brazil looked over-awed and were fortunate to escape with a 3-2 penalty shootout win over Chile after the match finished 1-1 at the end of extra time.

“We will look at how we won and why we won and all the situations in which we did not complete passes or make chances so that we can improve the next match,” Scolari told reporters.

“In every match difficulties are escalating and we need to improve.”

The match was intense and exhilarating and Scolari said he would try to use the emotionally draining game to inspire his squad.

“When you win this way, with this level of emotion, you can turn it into a positive thing to show them it is down to their performance and so we try to look for their best moments and value them,” he said.

Scolari was at the helm when Brazil won the trophy in 2002 but his current squad has little World Cup experience and he said that might have been telling against Chile.

“Even the most experienced players feel the pressure in the World Cup,” the former Chelsea and Portugal coach said.

“Everybody does, if you say you don’t you are lying. The emotions are different, it is not a normal match. As we have so many of new players they are gaining experience little by little.”

Brazil, who play Colombia in Fortaleza on Friday, need to work on scoring goals and shoring up their toothless midfield.

Although Hulk had a goal chalked off for handball, Chile controlled much of the second half and nearly sealed a famous win when Mauricio Pinilla struck the crossbar in the dying seconds.

“We gain experience as we go on,” Scolari added. “So let’s see if we can make less mistakes in the next matches. If we make errors we provide chances for the opponent and we might not be as lucky and we might concede a goal like we almost did today in the 118th minute. So let’s try and work on that.

“We scored, and then we conceded due to the error on the flank and that is not acceptable today at international level,” he said.

“And then we had three or four chances to score and we didn’t because we were trying to be too precise. So then you run more risks than at any other moment. We had the goalkeeper making two or three good saves; if you are not scoring then you run risks.”

MANGARATIBA — It was back in 1982 that Germany and Austria played out what went down in the history books as the “Disgrace of Gijon” to eliminate Algeria from the World Cup.

On Monday in Porto Alegre, Algeria faces Germany for the first time since that infamous match — with a spot in the quarter-finals on the line.

On paper, this match should be no contest.

Germany is a three-time champion with top-quality players in every position while Algeria has advanced past the opening round for the first time.

Add in the revenge and momentum elements, however, and this could become one of the most emotionally charged matches of the Round of 16.

“At a World Cup, there are no desirable opponents and no easy opponents, especially not in the knockout matches,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said. “The Algerians have proven that they are an uncomfortable rival. We’ll be well prepared.”

Algeria is one of only three countries with a 100 per cent win record against Germany. Of the other two, East Germany (one match, one win) doesn’t exist anymore, while Germany’s only game and only loss against Egypt came in 1958.

Algeria beat Germany 2-0 at home in a friendly in 1964 and won 2-1 in the opener for both teams at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

However, in their third group game in ‘82 in Gijon, Germany scored in the 10th minute and for the next 80 minutes the Germans and the Austrians pushed the ball around without any real effort to score since that result allowed both to advance at the expense of Algeria.

Algeria had little to cheer for until beating South Korea and drawing with Russia in the group stage this year, producing a late equaliser against Russia to go through.

“This Algeria team has a lot of margin to [improve] and I suspect that we can [do] a lot better maybe in the next round against Germany,” Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic said.

With Ramadan set to begin over the weekend, Halilhodzic suggested that his players would receive a special dispensation from a travelling imam to avoid fasting ahead of the Germany game.

Germany, meanwhile, is in perfect health after its 1-0 win over the United States.

“We are very ambitious and we have big goals,” said Thomas Mueller, the team’s top scorer with four goals.

While Mueller’s line-up spot is not in question, Mario Goetze should replace Lukas Podolski at the other forward position. Podolski was ruled out Saturday with an undescribed leg injury.

Loew is likely to keep defensive midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger in the line-up in place of Sami Khedira.

Schweinsteiger was praised for his performance against the Americans but he doesn’t seem to have energy for more than 70 minutes after nursing a knee injury before the World Cup.

The winner at the Estadio Beira-Rio will go on to play France or Nigeria.

“We are basically taking the rivals as they come, we are focusing on ourselves. We wanted to be first in the group at any cost and we achieved it,” Loew said. “It’s all or nothing now.”

RIO DE JANEIRO –– Uruguay must recover from the shock of losing star player Luis Suarez, who was kicked out of the World Cup for biting an opponent, if it is to stop high-scoring Colombia in an all-South American, second-round clash on Saturday.

Uruguay has long relied heavily on Suarez in attack and the controversial striker scored half of its four goals so far in the competition in Brazil.

He was thrown out of the World Cup on Thursday for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini in a group match, dealing a huge setback to Uruguay, which battled its way to the semifinals of the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

Colombia heads to the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in more buoyant mood, having won all three of its group games and racked up nine goals in the process, a tally surpassed so far only by the rampant Netherlands.

There had been fears that the loss of striker Radamel Falcao to injury before the tournament would be a big blow for Colombia, appearing at its first World Cup in 16 years.

But Falcao’s understudy Jackson Martinez has been one of the tournament’s revelations so far, helped in large part by playmaker James Rodriguez.

With those two in fine form, Colombia, under Argentine coach Jose Pekerman, has wowed crowds in Brazil with the kind of fast, flowing play that the locals demand of their own team.

The team also entertained fans with its salsa-inspired goal celebrations.

A place in the quarter-finals against Brazil is at stake on Saturday and Uruguay will be seeking to channel the spirit of 1950 — when it shocked Brazil by beating it to win the World Cup in Rio.

It will probably fall to veteran striker Diego Forlan to take the place of Suarez in the starting 11 in the Maracana as he did in Uruguay’s shock opening loss to Costa Rica in Group D while Suarez was still completing his recovery from injury.

Uruguay played poorly in that match which it lost 3-1 but looked better in the next, a 2-1 win over England when Suarez scored both goals.

After overcoming Italy 1-0 in the now infamous game in which Suarez lost his self-control, Uruguay must now cope without him again. Captain Diego Lugano vowed the team would not be distracted by his loss.

“Nothing will hold us back,” Lugano wrote on his Facebook page. “We will press on with humility, unity, determination, aware of the mistakes that have been made and with our heads always held high.”