Swiss Substitute Rubén Vargas fired a right-footed rocket past Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas to advance his team to the round of eight for the first time in 72 years.
The two sides ended regulation and extra time 0–0. Colombia made three of its five shots but missed two, making Vargas the final shooter. His finish generated a collective groan from a packed house of mostly Colombian supporters at Vancouver Stadium.
Both teams were very strong defensively. Ahead of this match, Colombia had conceded only one goal in the tournament, while Switzerland had allowed only three.
Switzerland came in with only one loss in its past 18 games; Colombia remained unbeaten in its past seven games.
The Swiss defense was very compact in the middle. Colombia tried to exploit space on the outside, bringing its fullbacks up as wings with three forwards covering the middle, but their opponents blocked several shots and passes in the penalty box the entire first half.
Through regulation time, shots went wide or high, and crosses were played into unoccupied spaces. Both teams were unable to find that last pass needed for a more decisive chance on goal.
Swiss forward Johan Manzambi, who has three goals and two assists in this tournament, was unavailable due to a knee injury.
Early in the first half, both teams displayed sharp, quick ball movement in their own end and in midfield but were hesitant to go for goal.
Colombia put more pressure on Switzerland in extra time, but goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was stellar. In the 99th minute, he faced a left-curving shot from distance by Jaminton Campaz but met the ball as it was about to dip below the crossbar and over the goal line and punched it out with both hands.
In the penalty shootout, Kobel stopped Cucho Hernandez’s shot. Colombia also missed its second shot, while Switzerland had only missed one, setting up Vargas to bury the game-winner.
Switzerland, which also reached the knockout stage in the 2022 World Cup, will now face reigning champion Argentina on July 11 in Kansas City.
Colombia Coach Nestor Lorenzo said he was happy with his team’s offensive pressure late in the match but, as his players got tired, switched formations to include another defender rather than try to make a stronger effort for the game winner late in extra time.
“We were aware that this was going to be a tactical, pretty tight match,” he said during the post-game press conference. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for us.”
