Name: James Rodriguez

Country: Colombia

Club: Monaco

Position: Attacking midfield

 

James Rodriguez is hardly an unknown but the 22-year-old could really make a major impact for Colombia at this year’s World Cup.

The man who joined Monaco from Porto for €45 million last summer will hope to provide the creativity which could lead an interesting Colombia side into the knockout stages.

 

Profile

An attacking midfielder, Rodriguez can also play wide on the left which is where he is likely to be stationed this summer, although he usually plays on the right or centrally for his club.

A skilful creator and set piece specialist with an eye for goal, he was credited with three goals and three assists during World Cup qualifying and possesses a potent left peg.

 

Key Stats

Rodriguez has been pretty prolific for Monaco this season, scoring nine goals and assisting 11 times. Two of those goals have come from free-kicks with all but one of his strikes coming off his left foot.

He has created 79 chances in Ligue 1 this season which is second only to Marseille’s Mathieu Valbuena, although the Colombian has twice as many assists as the France international.

 

This summer

Rodriguez is a certain starter, injury permitting and will be expected to create the chances for the plethora of talented forwards that Colombia will take to Brazil.

The serious knee injury to Radamel Falcao is a major subplot for Rodriguez as the duo have played together at FC Porto and Monaco and Colombia would have hoped that chemistry would have aided their World Cup bid this summer.

However, as Falcao has not made it to Brazil, Rodriguez has also played alongside Jackson Martinez – the next striker in line - at Porto.