Switzerland celebrates after beating Colombia in penalty kicks in the World Cup Round of 16.
(David Ramos via Getty Images)
Switzerland is in the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time in over 70 years.
Ruben Vargas buried Switzerland’s fifth penalty as the Swiss defeated Colombia 4-3 in penalty kicks after neither team scored a goal in regulation or extra time.
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Manuel Akanji had the only Swiss miss as Colombia’s Davinson Sanchez’s kick bounced off the crossbar and Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved Cucho Hernández’s spot kick.
That set up Vargas, Switzerland’s fifth penalty taker, for the winner.
Switzerland will face Argentina in the quarterfinals on Saturday (9 p.m. ET, Fox) after Argentina became the first team to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the final 15 minutes of regulation in its 3-2 win over Egypt.
Before 2026, Switzerland’s last quarterfinals appearance came in 1954, when the Swiss lost 7-5 to Austria after winning a playoff against Italy for second place in Group D. In the 72 years between quarterfinal appearances, Switzerland has made nine World Cup appearances.
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But it failed to get out of the group stage three times and hadn’t won a knockout round game until beating Algeria in the Round of 32.
The game went to extra time after a stagnant 90 minutes that hardly featured any real chances for either team. After Argentina’s epic comeback, you wouldn’t have been blamed for dozing off during this one.
The first extra time period featured good chances for each side and Colombia fans will be ruing the opportunity that was presented to their team in the second extra time period. After Granit Xhaka turned the ball over deep in his own half, Jaminton Campaz had a one-on-one opportunity against Kobel.
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His shot flew well over the crossbar.
As Switzerland was looking for its first final eight appearance in decades, Colombia was trying to make the quarterfinals for just the second time ever.
After a run to the quarters in 2014, Colombia had been knocked out in the Round of 16 in 2018 before failing to make the World Cup in 2022.
Until Tuesday, a showdown with Argentina looked inevitable. Colombia had been one of the best teams at the World Cup and won Group K over Portugal before easily dispatching Ghana in a 1-0 game that wasn’t all that close.
However, Colombia was incredibly inefficient with its chances. And Switzerland wasn’t much better. The teams combined for five shots on goal across 22 shots in 120 minutes.
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The quarterfinals are set
Switzerland’s win was the final game in the Round of 16 and they’ll play Argentina in the last game of the quarterfinals on Saturday evening. The next round begins Thursday, when France takes on Morocco (4 p.m. ET, Fox). Friday, Spain plays Belgium (3 p.m. ET, Fox) and England faces Norway on Saturday afternoon (5 p.m. ET, Fox).
The winners of Thursday and Friday’s games will play in the first semifinal on Tuesday, July 14, while the winners of the two games on Saturday will play on Wednesday, July 15.
