Neymar has lavished praise on James Rodriguez, saying he hopes the Colombian playmaker’s stunning World Cup form ends against Brazil on Friday. Rodriguez enters the quarterfinal at Fortaleza’s Castelao Arena as the tournament’s top scorer with five goals and an early favourite for the Golden Ball awarded to the World Cup’s best player, reports Xinhua. At a press conference at Brazil’s training base in Teresopolis, about 100 km north of Rio de Janeiro, Neymar admitted the 22-year-old Monaco playmaker posed a major threat to his team’s chances of advancing to the semifinals. ‘I already knew that he was a great player and he has shown that during the World Cup. Football has no age. It’s obvious that experience helps, but you have to play and put your talent into practice. James Rodriguez is a great player despite his young age. We are both 22, but he has been showing what he is capable of. I just hope that his good run comes to an end and that we can advance, with all respect to him,’ Neymar said, adding: ‘We have an excellent coach and as players we have to do what he says. Whether we have a centre forward or not, we have to play well.’