Switzerland beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw on early Wednesday to set up a World Cup quarter-final with defending champions Argentina in Kansa City.
The two teams cancelled each other out in the final game of the last 16 — the game in Vancouver was also the last at the 2026 tournament to be played outside the United States.
Colombia’s Davinson Sanchez hit the bar in a nerve-wracking shootout but Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji ballooned his effort over, meaning it was all square again.
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Switzerland stun Colombia
Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel then regained the initiative for his team, brilliantly saving Cucho Hernandez’s effort.
After two more successful kicks, Ruben Vargas stepped up to take the decisive penalty and made no mistake.
It is the first time Switzerland have reached the last eight of the World Cup since they hosted the tournament in 1954.
Colombia, once again backed by thousands of passionate fans, had conceded just once in their four games before Tuesday’s match and the Swiss had also proved difficult to break down.
The first action of note came in the 21st minute when Kobel was forced into a flying save to keep out Gustavo Puerta’s curling effort from the edge of the penalty area.
Murat Yakin’s Switzerland stepped up a gear immediately after the first hydration break, with Camilo Vargas beating away a shot from Fabian Rieder before denying Dan Ndoye.
But the match was goalless at half-time, with two well-matched teams struggling for inspiration.
The Swiss started the second half on the front foot but Colombia also had their moments, with Luis Suarez lashing wastefully wide.
Both coaches made multiple changes in the second half but again struggled to create meaningful openings, with Colombia’s star winger Luis Diaz kept quiet.
Ndoye flashed a shot across goal in stoppage time but nobody was able to get on the end of it and the match was 0-0 at the end of normal time.
The game belatedly burst into life in the first period of extra time. With nothing to separate the teams, the game went to penalties and the European team kept their nerve.
Switzerland will face Argentina in Kansas City on Saturday after Lionel Messi’s team earlier beat Egypt 3-2 in a wild game in Atlanta.
Read more about other World Cup teams in 2026 below:
Morocco national football team 2026
Argentina national football team 2026
Mexico national football team 2026
Spain national football team 2026
Brazil national football team 2026
France national football team 2026
Senegal national football team 2026