Ruben Vargas delivered the deciding goal in the fifth round of a penalty shootout and Switzerland advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup following a scoreless draw against Colombia on Tuesday in Vancouver.
Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made a key diving save on Colombia’s Cucho Hernandez in the fourth round of PKs. Granit Xhaka, Zeki Amdouni and Cedric Itten also made shots from the spot as Switzerland prevailed 4-3 and advanced to its first quarterfinal since 1954.
As the last of the eight quarterfinal teams in the tournament, Switzerland are set to face Argentina on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo. Argentina advanced by scoring three goals after the 78th minute as the defending champions pulled off a 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt.
Kobel finished with three saves in regulation and extra time while surviving a Colombia offensive onslaught in the 30-minute extra period. Colombia had an 8-1 advantage on shots in extra time.
Colombia nearly took the lead in the 99th minute when Jhon Lucumi’s header off a Juan Quintero corner kick bounced off the top of the crossbar. Colombia’s Jaminton Campaz put a shot on goal from distance in the 101st minute that Kobel saved.
Colombia again had a scoring chance in the 115th minute but Campaz’s left-footed shot went over the goal.
The defensive tussle played out just as expected. Colombia entered the match after allowing one goal, better than all World Cup teams except Spain, who have yet to allow an opponent to score. Switzerland allowed three goals during its first four matches.
Each team had two shots on goal in the opening 90 minutes, while Colombia took seven total shots to six for Switzerland.
Switzerland had a rare scoring chance just past the 90-minute mark but a shot from Dan Ndoye slid untouched across the 6-yard box.
Colombia’s best chance to score came early in the match when Gustavo Puerta’s shot to the top right corner in the 21st minute was knocked down on a diving save from Kobel. Switzerland had a scoring chance in the 30th minute when Fabien Rieder’s shot was saved by Camilo Vargas.
–Field Level Media
