Brazil's Neymar, Colombia's James Rodriguez meet Friday

Brazil striker Neymar and Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez have led their teams to the World Cup quarterfinals, dominating the attention and the scoring.

The 22-year-old stars will go head-to-head today when Brazil plays Colombia, with only one getting the chance to continue his Cup run.

Wearing the No. 10 jerseys, both have lived up to expectations, enough to be included in discussions about the tournament's best players along with established stars such as Lionel Messi and Arjen Robben.

Neymar has excelled for Brazil, scoring four goals in four matches. Rodriguez, known as just James, has been brilliant for Colombia with his tournament-leading five goals and creativity in attack.

"I already knew that James was a great player," Neymar said. "And now he has been showing his talent at the World Cup."

Rodriguez, one of the tournament's sensations, has helped Colombia get over the absence of star striker Radamel Falcao, who missed the tournament with a knee injury.

It didn't take long for Rodriguez to become the focal point of a Colombia team that has won all four of its matches.

"It's not easy to achieve what I've done, but my view is that when you have a dream and you really pursue it and picture things like this happening, then it can become a reality," he told FIFA.com. "If you want something and you work hard for it, then it can happen."

Rodriguez has scored in each match, including twice against Uruguay in the second round, and has been voted player of the match three times. Against Uruguay, he chested the ball and quickly turned to fire a powerful shot over the goalkeeper. He scored a stunning goal against Japan in the group stage.

"James is outstanding despite also being young," Neymar said. "He has been showing that he is a great player and needs to be congratulated for the tournament that he has been having.

"But I hope his run ends now."