Switzerland’s Ruben Vargas, left, celebrates with teammates after making the winning kick in a penalty shootout within the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Switzerland and Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Timothy Matwey/The Canadian Press via AP)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — In a match with few fireworks, the Swiss were patient against the Colombians and their enthusiastic fans.
After a scoreless draw, Ruben Vargas converted the decisive penalty and Switzerland advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals, beating Colombia 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday.
Switzerland will face defending champion Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Argentina defeated Egypt 3-2 earlier within the day.
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Switzerland had not reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup since hosting the tournament in 1954. And the Swiss were short-handed Tuesday without young midfielder Johan Manzambi, who was injured in training on Monday.
Vargas, who has scored two goals within the World Cup, also left Monday’s training early but got here on in stoppage time at the top of regulation.
Within the shootout, Colombia defender Davinson Sánchez’s penalty attempt hit the crossbar and Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved an attempt by Cucho Hernández.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was amongst those at BC Place, where the sellout crowd of 52,497 was overwhelmingly clad in yellow in support of Colombia.
“That they had the group on their side, so it was a troublesome game for us,” Kobel said. “We all know we had some stretches of the sport where we needed to defend and stay strong mentally. Obviously we had a couple of players missing so, yeah, it was a giant challenge for us.”
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Colombia did not qualify for the last World Cup in 2022. Los Cafeteros made the quarterfinals on the 2014 tournament in Brazil, defeating Uruguay within the round of 16 before losing to the host country 2-1.
“The dream was enormous,” Colombia midfielder John Arias said. “The country showed us that it believed in us, that it lived every moment with us, and I believe that only makes the pain even greater.”
The Swiss reached the round of 16 on the past three World Cups but did not advance with a smaller field of 32 teams.
“We worked very hard, and now now we have this chance,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “That is going to be a really interesting matchup from our viewpoint. We are going to attempt to compete against the reigning champions and it’s going to be amazing. Switzerland against Argentina in a quarterfinal. I’m so excited. I believe that I want perhaps a few hours more or one other day to process what just happened, after which tomorrow we’ll start specializing in Argentina.”
The match was tightly contested by two teams with contrasting styles, the Swiss with a more organized and methodical approach and Colombia more attack-oriented and physical. Switzerland had a slight edge in possession.
Manzambi, a 20-year-old midfielder who plays for German club Freiburg, has three goals within the World Cup, becoming one in all the tournament’s breakout stars. The Swiss were also without Luca Jaquez and midfielder Michel Aebischer.
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Gustavo Puerta had the primary good probability for Colombia with a shot from distance within the twenty first minute that was pushed away by Kobel.
The Swiss got one in all their best opportunities within the thirtieth with Fabian Reider’s blast at goalkeeper Camilo Vargas, who punched the ball down. Minutes later, Vargas smothered one other attempt from Dan Ndoye.
The Swiss had a free kick within the 52nd minute, but Reider’s attempt curled across the wall and went into the side netting.
In the primary additional time period, Jhon Lucumi’s header hit the crossbar and caromed away as Colombia put pressure on Kobel.
“I don’t think you’ll be able to overstate what an enormous success that is — for us, for this team, for Switzerland, for such a small country. To be among the many top eight teams on the earth is incredible,” Kobel said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’m incredibly proud.”
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Colombia and Switzerland also met within the group stage on the 1994 World Cup in the US, with Los Cafeteros winning 2-0.