Switzerland reached the World Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday after edging Colombia 4-3 on penalties following a goalless draw in Vancouver.
Neither side was able to find a breakthrough across 120 minutes in the final Round-of-16 match of the tournament, with Switzerland’s reward being a quarterfinal against defending champion Argentina on Saturday.
Colombia had one of the clearest openings of the first half when Gustavo Puerta curled an effort toward the top corner, but Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel got across well to turn it away. Switzerland responded through Fabian Rieder and Dan Ndoye, but Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas was alert to keep the match level.
The game struggled to open up after halftime, with both teams organized defensively and wary of leaving space in transition. Colombia carried more threat through Luis Diaz and later tried to push the tempo, while Switzerland relied on its compact shape and set-piece threat to stay in the contest.
In extra time, Colombia appealed for a penalty after Miro Muheim’s challenge on Jaminton Campaz, but the referee and VAR allowed play to continue. Jhon Lucumi then headed against the crossbar as Colombia came closest to breaking the deadlock, while Kobel again had to react to deny Campaz from distance.
With the match still 0-0 after extra time, penalties decided the final quarterfinal place. Both sides missed in the shootout, but Kobel’s save from Cucho Hernandez proved decisive before Ruben Vargas converted the winning kick for Switzerland.