Rubén Vargas held his nerve to score the decisive penalty as Switzerland beat Colombia 4-3 in a shootout to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 1954.
After 120 goalless minutes at BC Place in Vancouver, the tie was settled from the spot, with Vargas converting the winner immediately after Luis Díaz had kept Colombia alive with their final kick.
The result carried Switzerland into unfamiliar territory, marking the first time in their history that they have won consecutive World Cup knockout-stage matches.
The Swiss achieved it shorthanded, too, having lost 20-year-old breakout midfielder Johan Manzambi to a knee injury suffered in training on Monday.
Colombia, unbeaten at the tournament until this point, bow out after another Round of 16 exit, unable to progress beyond this stage since 2014.
The contest opened with chances at both ends. Gustavo Puerta drew a brilliant save from Gregor Kobel with a curling effort, before Fabian Rieder forced a sharp stop from Camilo Vargas.
Switzerland’s best moment of regulation arrived late, but Dan Ndoye dragged a golden opportunity wide across the face of goal in the 90th minute.
Colombia came closest in extra time, Jhon Lucumí rising to head a Juan Quintero corner against the crossbar in the 99th minute.
The most agonising miss was saved for last. In the dying seconds of extra time, Jaminton Campaz blasted a one-on-one over the bar after a mix-up between Manuel Akanji and Granit Xhaka.
Both sides had penalty appeals waved away by referee Iván Barton and VAR, including a late regulation challenge on Rieder and an extra-time incident involving Campaz and Miro Muheim.
Yellow cards went to Denis Zakaria and Muheim for Switzerland and Davinson Sánchez for Colombia, but no player was sent off across the two hours.
The penalties then went the distance, with Switzerland edging it 4-3 as Díaz and Vargas traded the final kicks that decided the tie.
Switzerland’s reward is a quarterfinal against defending champions Argentina on Saturday, July 11, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Argentina booked their place earlier in the day with a 3-2 win over Egypt, setting up the tournament’s final eight while Colombia’s 2026 campaign comes to an end.
