Switzerland extend historic run with Colombia shootout win
- Timothy Belin
- 11 hours ago
- 5 min read
Lee Smith/Reuters
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Switzerland qualified for the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1954 after defeating Colombia on penalties.
The Swiss had only made it 72 years ago under a different format, one that went straight from group stages to the quarters. As such, Switzerland had never actually won a knockout game at the World Cup prior to their triumph over Algeria last week.
Now, they have two.
In a very even game, chances for either side were few and far between. Both sides cancelled each other out throughout most of the encounter, with just six total shots on target across the full 120 minutes.
Colombia got the first one in the 21st minute when Gustavo Puerta looked to curl one into the top corner. In the Swiss goal, Gregor Kobel was equal to it with a full-stretch dive, sending it out for a corner.
Kobel had also been called into action 10 minutes earlier on an outswinging free-kick, but it was an otherwise quiet start to the game for both goalkeepers. Not until after the hydration break did Colombia’s Camilo Vargas make his presence felt. In the 31st minute, Fabian Rieder was dispossessed near the Colombian goal but showed great fight to win the ball back and drive forward with it. His shooting angle was tough however and a fairly straightforward save for the keeper.
Dan Ndoye had a shot from a similarly tight angle two minutes later as the Swiss gained momentum coming out of the hydration break. Like his compatriot, he could not beat Vargas between the sticks.
Most other first-half opportunities came off the back of quick transitions as both teams looked to control the ball and set the tempo. Neither side came all that close, with the attempts coming from outside the box and ending wide of the target.
Not until the second half did either team conjure up some meaningful chances.
In the 48th minute, Ndoye did well to dribble past his man down the left flank. Having reached the byline, he cut it back for a completely unmarked Djibril Sow. Subbed on at the break, the midfielder could have made an instant impact but slipped at the moment of the shot to send it well over.
Rieder then came close with a 53rd-minute free-kick, grazing the outside of the net, while Luis Diaz recorded Colombia’s second shot on target on the hour mark but could not get any power behind it.
Colombia’s biggest regulation time chance came three minutes later. Los Cafeteros won the ball high up the field, and Luis Suarez got it on the edge of the box with nobody in front of him. And yet, the Colombian striker shanked his attempt far right of the post, giving the Swiss a massive reprieve.
Neither side looked likely to break the deadlock, and the game became focused more on fouls than goals for the rest of regulation. Referee Ivan Barton struggled to keep control of the game, with notably his repeated failures to show Colombians yellow cards only encouraging more infringements throughout the night.
By the end of the game, the two sides had combined for 43 fouls, yet only five bookings.
Extra-time was more of the same, with neither side particularly willing to risk conceding in order to score. Colombia did have the bigger chances of the two however, with Jhon Lucumi smashing a header off the crossbar in the 99th minute.
Switzerland’s Zeki Amdouni had the biggest chance for his nation, striking a cutback on goal from close range, but Vargas was equal to it. Silvan Widmer then came up clutch for the Europeans down the other side, stepping in to make a massive block on Diaz’ shot inside the box.
In the 114th minute, the referee added to his blunders by getting in the way of a Swiss shooting attempt. A cutback was headed to Granit Xhaka to rifle at goal from the edge of the box, but Barton somehow found himself stepping in front of the Swiss captain, forcing him to readjust his feet at the last second. The shot went over, and the Swiss frustration was understandable towards the official.
Perhaps rattled, Xhaka nearly cost his team the victory not even a minute later. While looking to clear a ball near his own corner flag, the midfielder instead lofted it into the path of Jaminton Campaz. The winger raced into the box and seemed destined to score, but smashed his attempt well over the bar instead.
With neither side finding a goal after 120 minutes, the match had to be settled on penalties.
Colombia stepped up first, and Juan Quintero confidently smashed it down the middle. Xhaka’s ensuing attempt was more labored, taking a touch off of Vargas’ hand before settling in the top corner. Controversy surrounded the kick, as Yerry Mina had stepped away from his team to approach the Swiss captain as he walked to his spot, looking to put him off.
After the Swiss captain, the Colombian one stepped up. Davinson Sanchez, perhaps looking to replicate Quintero’s shot, went down the middle but smacked it off the underside of the crossbar. Replays showed it had fallen right on the goal-line, but never went across.
Amdouni was then able to give his country the advantage, and Kobel nearly saved the next shot to double it. However, Manuel Akanji stepped up next for the Swiss and, as he had already done twice in his country’s last three shootouts, missed from the spot.
Scores were tied again, with some questioning the decision to send a centerback with such a poor shootout record to take one, but Kobel quickly restored the Swiss lead. Juan Hernandez put his shot on target, but at a good height for the keeper. He didn’t need to be asked twice to dive to his right and make the save.
With the next two penalties going in, it came down to Switzerland’s fifth and final shooter to make the difference. Ruben Vargas, another Swiss player to have failed to convert in a recent shootout loss for his country, stepped to the plate. Mina repeated his unsportsmanlike behavior of approaching the taker in an attempt to get in his head, somehow receiving no caution by the referee.
It had little impact, as the Swiss Vargas beat the Colombian one with a calmly-struck penalty to the left to send his team through.
For Switzerland, it was a monumental night. Not only had they suffered penalty heartbreak in two of their last three major tournaments (EUROs 2020 and 2024), they also had the unwanted streak of advancing to the Round of 16 in five of the last six World Cups without ever making it further.
The European minnows banished both those demons in Vancouver to extend their impressive run in the tournament. Granit Xhaka, who featured in most of those previous disappointments, fell to the floor in tears when his teammate’s spot kick went in.
“I think this generation we have now is a special one,” Xhaka said. “Hopefully we’ll see another one like it one day, but we’ve been waiting a long time for a group like this. We, the more experienced players, are being pushed by the younger ones, and at the same time we have to lead by example every single day and every single game.
“Of course, we try to pass on our experience, but above all the mentality that, even as a small nation, anything is possible at this level, in elite football,” he continued. “From the coaching staff to the last player, we can all be proud of what we’ve achieved.”
Switzerland will take in their memorable achievement tonight, but tomorrow focus will turn to the next game. It will be no small task, as they will face none other than the defending champions, Argentina, led by the somehow evergreen Lionel Messi.
Argentina and Switzerland face off on July 11 at the Kansas City Stadium. The game kicks off at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific.
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