Switzerland beat Colombia on penalties to reach FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals

Ruben Vargas scored the decisive penalty in the fifth round of the shootout as Switzerland held their nerve in a tense FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash to knock out Colombia with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory after a goalless draw at BC Place in Vancouver on Tuesday.

Switzerland will play Argentina in the quarter-finals on Saturday in Kansas City, who edged Egypt 3-2 after a dramatic match, in which they were 2-0 down until the 78th minute.

Davinson Sanchez missed a penalty for Colombia in their second attempt before Manuel Akanji missed Switzerland's third shot, sending his effort over the bar as the shootout remained level.

However, when Juan Hernandez went for power to his left, Gregor Kobel denied him to restore his team’s advantage.

Vargas took the deciding penalty; he needed to score to win, and he calmly tucked his effort into the bottom-left corner past Camilo Vargas.

Switzerland played their last World Cup quarterfinal in 1954, and Colombia were in the last eight in 2014.

Colombia had only ever been involved in one World Cup penalty shootout, which they lost to England in 2018.

Kobel made three saves in regulation and extra time, standing firm as Colombia piled on the pressure in the 30-minute extra period. Colombia had an 8-1 advantage in shots in extra time.

Colombia nearly scored in the 99th minute when Jhon Lucumi's header off a Juan Quintero corner kick struck the top of the crossbar and bounced away. Colombia's Jaminton Campaz put a shot on goal from distance in the 101st minute that was saved by Kobel.

Switzerland had a rare chance to score just past the 90-minute mark but a shot from Dan Ndoye slid untouched across the 6-yard box.

Colombia's best chance came early in the match when Gustavo Puerta's effort to the top right corner in the 21st minute was denied on a diving save from Kobel. Switzerland had a scoring chance in the 30th minute when Fabien Rieder's shot was denied by Camilo Vargas.