WC's leading scorer Rodriguez departs

Colombia's James Rodriguez had to be consoled by his Brazilian colleagues after bowing out of the World Cup soon after extending his lead at the top of the tournament's goal scorers' standings.

David Luiz and Dani Alves were among those trying to cheer up the number 10 following Colombia's 2-1 quarter-final defeat in Fortaleza on Friday (Saturday AEST).

"He tried to do his best in a hard match. He was dreaming of continuing, to show what he could do," Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said after the quarter-final.

"I tried to calm him down, because he deserves a huge congratulations from us. I have no doubt that he will show in future that he can be one of the best."

After netting both goals in Colombia's 2-0 win over Uruguay in the round of 16, Rodriguez wasn't able to save his team against Brazil. But he did come close by converting a penalty in the 78th minute to give Los Cafeteros the chance of a comeback in the final minutes.

The goal was his sixth of the tournament, placing him two goals ahead of Argentina's Lionel Messi, Germany's Thomas Mueller and Brazil's Neymar. He scored in all five Colombian games in Brazil.

The quarter-final in Fortaleza was marred by a high number of fouls that interrupted the flow of the game.

According to Pekerman, that was one of the main reasons why neither Rodriguez nor Neymar were able to show off their talent.

"It was very difficult to have continuity because the teams interrupted the game (with fouls) and broke off the support to those players," he said.

Rodriguez's next opportunity to showcase his talent for Colombia will be at the Copa America, which will be held in Chile in 2015.