Switzerland and Colombia spent two hours trying to separate themselves by football. In the end, the match needed the bar, Gregor Kobel’s left hand and one final Rubén Vargas penalty.
Switzerland beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the World Cup Round of 16, advancing after a tense shootout that punished Colombia’s two misses. Juan Fernando Quintero, Jaminton Campaz and Luis Díaz scored for Colombia, but Davinson Sánchez hit the bar and Cucho Hernández had his attempt saved by Kobel.
Granit Xhaka, Zeki Amdouni, Cedric Itten and Vargas converted for Switzerland. Manuel Akanji sent his attempt over, but Kobel’s save on Cucho gave Switzerland the cushion it needed, and Vargas drove the decisive kick into the bottom left corner.
The result ended a Colombian run that had already included a controlled 1-0 win over Ghana in the previous round. This one had a different shape. Colombia had more shots, more corners and several late openings, but Switzerland carried the steadier nerve from the spot.
The 120 minutes before the shootout were tight rather than expansive. Switzerland had 53.2 percent possession and completed 546 passes, while Colombia finished with 15 shots to Switzerland’s seven. Neither side found enough precision to turn long spells of structure into a goal.
Kobel gives Switzerland the shootout edge
The clearest late chances belonged to Colombia. Campaz forced Kobel into a save in the 101st minute, Quintero missed from distance in the 112th, and Cucho headed wide from Quintero’s cross in the 117th. Colombia pushed, but the finishing never matched the pressure.
Switzerland’s own threat came in shorter bursts. Dan Ndoye missed from the right side of the box in stoppage time, and Xhaka fired over in extra time. Murat Yakin had already gone to his bench, using Sow, Muheim, Widmer, Itten, Vargas and Amdouni before the night reached penalties.
That depth showed once the shootout arrived. Amdouni, Itten and Vargas all came off the bench and scored. Colombia’s substitutes shaped the shootout too, with Quintero and Campaz converting, but Cucho’s miss left Díaz only able to pull Colombia level at 3-3 before Vargas ended it.
The match’s discipline also told part of the story. Switzerland committed 22 fouls and Colombia 21. Xhaka, Denis Zakaria and Miro Muheim were booked for Switzerland, while Luis Suárez and Sánchez saw yellow for Colombia. It was a knockout game built less on clean rhythm than on interruptions, second balls and recovery runs.
For Colombia, the exit will sting because the match stayed close enough to claim. It allowed only two Swiss shots on target across 120 minutes and still couldn’t turn its own late pressure into the goal that would have avoided the lottery.
For Switzerland, the reward is another step through a World Cup bracket that has already been shaped by narrow margins. The Swiss never overwhelmed Colombia. They outlasted it, then trusted the goalkeeper and the penalty takers when the night finally reduced itself to five kicks each.
