VANCOUVER: Switzerland’s Ruben Vargas scored the decisive penalty to beat Colombia 4-3 in a shootout after 120 scoreless minutes, sending Switzerland to its first World Cup quarter-final since 1954 and a clash with defending champions Argentina.
The shootout turned in Switzerland’s favor when their goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved Cucho Hernandez’s penalty after Davinson Sanchez earlier hit the crossbar for Colombia.
Although Manuel Akanji also missed the ball for Switzerland by shooting over the bar, Vargas made no mistake in slotting the winning penalty into the bottom corner.
“It is very difficult for me to achieve what we accomplished today,” Vargas said.
“I’m grateful for this moment. It was an incredible match for me. For 120 minutes we gave everything on the pitch. We faced a strong opponent, but now we made history… It was incredible that I was able to score the decisive penalty.”
It was a heartbreaker for Colombia, who were trying to reach the quarterfinals for only the second time in their history, having already done so at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The best opportunity of the first half came in the 21st minute when Colombian midfielder Gustavo Puerta fired a shot towards the far corner from around 18 yards, forcing Kobel to make a superb diving save to his left.
Switzerland responded moments later, but Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas was equal to Fabian Rieder’s shot from a tight angle.
Swiss winger Dan Ndoye almost scored the winning goal in the 91st minute, making a smart run before firing a low shot over the goal just wide of the far post.
In added time, Colombian center back Jhon Lucumi came within inches of breaking the deadlock, rising unmarked to meet a corner but seeing his header crash against the crossbar. The near miss sparked a frenzied period as both sides moved forward in search of a winner.
Colombia came into play in Vancouver, the last to be hosted by Canada in the tournament, possessing one of the stingiest defenses in the tournament, having conceded only once in their previous matches.
The Swiss suffered a major setback before kick-off when 20-year-old striker Johan Manzambi, their star of the tournament with three goals and two assists, was ruled out after injuring his knee in training.
Pure happiness
Competing in their sixth consecutive World Cup, Switzerland have become a model of consistency in qualifying, but progress beyond the round of 16 had remained stubbornly elusive in recent editions.
They were eliminated at this stage in 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022, but ultimately overcame that hurdle despite missing key players to reach their fourth World Cup quarter-final in their history.
The result also erased some of the disappointment of Euro 2024, when Switzerland lost 5-3 on penalties to England in the quarter-finals.
It was pure joy after Vargas converted the winning penalty. The entire Swiss team sprinted toward him as celebrations erupted in Vancouver.
BC Place provided a vibrant backdrop, with Colombian fans vastly outnumbering their Swiss counterparts.
The sea of yellow jerseys transformed the stadium into what looked like a home match for the South Americans, whose fans generated a relentless atmosphere, roaring with every Colombian attack and taunting the Swiss players whenever they had possession of the ball.
The Swiss will face Argentina in the quarter-finals in Kansas City after Lionel Scaloni’s side staged a stunning comeback from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 earlier on Tuesday.
