Switzerland have marched into the quarterfinals after 72 years, defeating Colombia via penalty shoot-out in FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match in Vancouver on Tuesday.
Updated: July 8, 2026, 11:20 AM IST
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Switzerland players celebrate after winning FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match vs Colombia. (Photo: IANS)
Switzerland vs Colombia FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16: Switzerland ended a 72-year-old wait as they defeated Colombia via penalty shootout in a FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on Tuesday. The Swiss have entered the World Cup quarterfinals after 72 years where they will take on Lionel Messi’s Argentina at Kansas City Stadium on Saturday.
After a game which ended in a scoreless draw, Ruben Vargas converted the crucial penalty and Switzerland advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals. Gregor Kobel’s save of Cucho Hernandez‘s penalty proved critical as Swiss emerged victorious in the shootout with a 4-3 margin.
The Swiss have not reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup since hosting the tournament back in 1954. They were also missing the services of their young midfielder Johan Manzambi, who was injured in training on Monday.
‘Super sub’ Vargas, who has scored two goals in the World Cup, also left Monday’s training early but came on in stoppage time at the end of regulation period. “They had the crowd on their side, so it was a tough game for us. We know we had some stretches of the game where we had to defend and stay strong mentally. Obviously we had a few players missing so, yeah, it was a big challenge for us,” Swiss goalkeeper Kobel said.
WATCH Switzerland vs Colombia FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 penalty shootout HERE…
Colombia vs Switzerland full penalty shootout pic.twitter.com/jiZ7DWdOWV
— koko5cedis (@koko5cedis) July 8, 2026
Colombia had failed to qualify for the last World Cup in 2022. The ‘Los Cafeteros’ made the quarterfinals at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, defeating Uruguay in the round of 16 before losing to the host country 2-1.
“The dream was enormous. The country showed us that it believed in us, that it lived every moment with us, and I think that only makes the pain even greater,” Colombia midfielder John Arias said after the match.
Both teams combined to produce just 0.7 expected goals (0.3 for Switzerland, 0.4 for Colombia) across the 90 minutes – the lowest total in normal time of any match in this World Cup. But the South Americans managed to increase the pressure in extra-time.
The Swiss reached the round of 16 at the past three World Cups but failed to advance with a smaller field of 32 teams. “We worked very hard, and now we have this opportunity. This is going to be a very interesting matchup from our point of view. We will try to compete against the reigning champions and it’s going to be amazing. Switzerland against Argentina in a quarterfinal. I am so excited. I think that I need maybe a couple of hours more or another day to process what just happened, and then tomorrow we will start focusing on Argentina,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin was quoted as saying AP news agency.
This was just the second World Cup knockout match since the start of the 2018 World Cup to end 0-0 after extra-time, after Morocco vs Spain in the 2022 last 16 match. Gustavo Puerta had the first real chance for Colombia, shooting from distance in the 21st minute, that was pushed to safety by Kobel.
