{"id":99469,"date":"2026-07-08T02:37:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T02:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/99469\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T02:37:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T02:37:21","slug":"switzerland-edge-colombia-on-penalties-to-reach-first-world-cup-quarters-since-1954","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/99469\/","title":{"rendered":"Switzerland edge Colombia on penalties to reach first World Cup quarters since 1954"},"content":{"rendered":"

Switzerland’s Granit Xhaka (left) clears the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Switzerland and Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia, July 7, 2026. (PHOTO \/ AP)<\/p>\n

VANCOUVER – Switzerland’s Ruben Vargas stroked home the decisive penalty to beat Colombia 4-3 in a shootout after a goalless 120 minutes, sending the Swiss \u200binto their first World Cup quarterfinal since 1954 and a clash with holders Argentina.<\/p>\n

The shootout swung in Switzerland’s favor when their \u200cgoalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved Cucho Hernandez’s penalty after Davinson Sanchez had earlier hit the crossbar for Colombia.<\/p>\n

Although Manuel Akanji also missed for Switzerland, firing over the bar, Vargas made no mistake, stroking the winning penalty into the bottom corner.<\/p>\n

“It is very difficult for me to realize what we achieved today,” Vargas said.<\/p>\n

“I’m grateful for this moment. It \u200bwas an amazing match for me. For 120 minutes we gave it all on the pitch. We faced a strong opponent, but \u200bnow we made history… It was amazing that I could score the decisive penalty.”<\/p>\n

Colombia’s Daniel Mu\u00f1oz (2) and Switzerland’s Ricardo Rodr\u00edguez (13) battle for the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Switzerland and Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia, July 7, 2026. (PHOTO \/ AP)<\/p>\n

It was heartbreak for Colombia, \u2060who were bidding to reach the quarters for only the second time in their history, having previously done so at the 2014 World Cup \u200bin Brazil.<\/p>\n

The best opportunity of the first half arrived in the 21st minute when Colombia midfielder Gustavo Puerta curled a shot towards the far \u200bcorner from around 18 yards, forcing Kobel into a superb diving save to his left.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Tearful Messi inspires Argentina to stunning comeback win over Egypt<\/a><\/p>\n

Switzerland responded moments later, but Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas was equal to Fabian Rieder’s effort from a tight angle.<\/p>\n

Colombia’s Luis Diaz (7) attempts a bicycle kick against Switzerland’s Denis Zakaria (6) and Remo Freuler (8) during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, July 7, 2026. (PHOTO \/ AP)<\/p>\n

Swiss winger Dan Ndoye nearly snatched a winner in the 91st minute, making a clever run before dragging a low shot across goal just \u200bwide of the far post.<\/p>\n

In extra time, Colombia center back Jhon Lucumi came within inches of breaking the deadlock, rising unmarked to meet a \u200bcorner only to see his header crash against the crossbar. The near miss sparked a frenetic spell as both sides pushed forward in search of a \u200cwinner.<\/p>\n

Colombia entered \u2060the game in Vancouver, the last to be hosted by Canada at the tournament, boasting one of the tournament’s stingiest defenses, having conceded just once in their previous matches.<\/p>\n

The Swiss were dealt a major setback before kickoff when 20-year-old attacker Johan Manzambi, their breakout star of the tournament with three goals and two assists, was ruled out after suffering a knee injury in training.<\/p>\n

Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel (1) makes a save during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Switzerland and Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia, July 7, 2026. (PHOTO \/ AP)<\/p>\n

Pure joy<\/p>\n

Competing at their sixth successive World Cup, Switzerland have \u200bbecome a model of consistency in \u200bqualification, but progress beyond the \u2060round of 16 had remained stubbornly out of reach in recent editions.<\/p>\n

They were eliminated at that stage in 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022, but finally overcame that hurdle despite the absence of key players to reach \u200btheir fourth World Cup quarterfinal in their history.<\/p>\n

The result also erased some of the disappointment of \u200bEuro 2024, when Switzerland \u2060lost 5-3 on penalties to England in the quarters.<\/p>\n

It was pure joy after Vargas converted the winning penalty. The entire Swiss squad sprinted towards him as celebrations erupted in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Colombia’s Davinson Sanchez (23) holds Switzerland’s Zeki Amdouni (230 during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Switzerland and Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia, July 7, 2026. (PHOTO \/ AP)<\/p>\n

BC Place provided a vibrant backdrop, with Colombia supporters vastly outnumbering their Swiss counterparts.<\/p>\n

The sea of yellow shirts transformed the stadium \u2060into what \u200bfelt like a home match for the South Americans, whose fans generated a relentless \u200batmosphere, roaring on every Colombian attack and jeering Swiss players whenever they were on the ball.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Substitute Merino hits late winner as Spain end Ronaldo’s World Cup career<\/a><\/p>\n

The Swiss will face Argentina in the quarters in Kansas City after Lionel Scaloni’s side \u200bproduced a stunning comeback from two goals down to defeat Egypt 3-2 earlier on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Switzerland’s Granit Xhaka (left) clears the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Switzerland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[29404,81,2019,17,13703],"class_list":["post-99469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-egypt","tag-football","tag-soccer","tag-switzerland","tag-world-cup"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116882036801725858","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}