Colombia coach Jose Pekerman has warned his players that the World Cup is only going to get harder for them after reaching the second round.

The Colombians face fellow South Americans Uruguay tonight with a place in the quarter-finals awaiting the winners.

Despite his side's solid showing so far in Brazil, Pekerman is aware that they still need to put in plenty of hard work if they want to progress further.

"We've exceeded expectations and that's a big achievement in itself because pre-tournament predictions don't often prove to be right," he told FIFA.com.

"But we need to tread carefully and be aware that every game from now on will be harder than the last, because only the best teams are left in the competition."

James Rodriguez, Mario Yepes and Carlos Carbonero are all expected to return to Colombia's starting lineup tonight after sitting out the team's final group match against Japan.