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Switzerland edged out Colombia 4-3 on penalties to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, after 120 goalless minutes that summed up how tight this one was. Jhon Lucumi rattled the crossbar in extra time and Jaminton Campaz spurned a great late chance, but neither side could find a breakthrough, so it went to spot-kicks. Gregor Kobel was the difference, saving Cucho Hernandez's effort before substitute Ruben Vargas stepped up to smash in the winning penalty. Colombia are out; Switzerland are into their first World Cup quarter-final since they hosted the tournament back in 1954, and they face Argentina in Kansas City on Saturday.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Win this and you're into the quarter-finals; lose it and you're on a plane home. For Switzerland that would match their best-ever World Cup finish, and they haven't managed it since 1954 — so there are Swiss people alive who remember it happening and have been waiting ever since. For Colombia, a quarter-final would only be their second in history, the first coming back in 2014. Neither side has anything to hide behind here: win or go home, no group-stage safety net.
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2Colombia have never lost to Switzerland, and they've made a habit of it. They beat them 2-0 at the 1994 World Cup group stage, then did it again in a 2007 friendly, 3-1. Two meetings, two wins, no draws — so if you fancy an easy prediction to sound smart about, this is the fixture for it.
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3Keep an eye on Luis Díaz. He's just had the best season of his career at Bayern Munich, and he plays like it — quick, direct, and the sort of player who turns a solid defence into a nervous one. If Colombia are going to stretch Switzerland's shape, it'll be him doing the stretching, usually from the left and usually at pace.
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4Switzerland go into this with some fitness worries at the back — Michel Aebischer and Luca Jaquez have both been training individually with muscle issues, which is never the news a team wants two hours before a knockout game. Colombia have their own scare, with James Rodríguez forced off at half-time against Ghana, though he's expected to be fit enough to feature. Luis Suárez should return up front after Jhon Córdoba's hamstring injury ruled him out.
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5Colombia have conceded precisely once at this entire World Cup — in their very first game — which is a faintly ridiculous defensive record for a team many wrote off before it started. Meanwhile Switzerland have a genuine breakout star in 20-year-old Johan Manzambi, who already has three goals and two assists at the tournament. One of these two storylines has to give.
Team Talking Points
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1Switzerland's tournament is over after a 3-1 extra-time loss to Argentina in the quarterfinal on July 11 in Kansas City — a defeat, but also their best World Cup finish since 1954. Argentina went 1-0 up inside 10 minutes, Switzerland equalised, and then it all turned on one refereeing moment in the 71st.
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2The high point was topping their group and then grinding out two knockout wins nobody expected: a 2-0 win over Algeria in the round of 32, then a 0-0 stalemate with Colombia in the round of 16 settled 4-3 on penalties. Two clean, nervy knockout wins from a team that usually exits tournaments quietly.
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3The turning point against Argentina was cruel: with the score level at 1-1, Breel Embolo was shown a second yellow card for simulation after a VAR review in the 71st minute, leaving Switzerland to play the last 20 minutes plus extra time with 10 men. Argentina scored twice after that. Mention this gently — it's the kind of decision that divides pundits, not a moral failing.
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4Dan Ndoye was the breakout name of Switzerland's run — the winger scored the equaliser against Argentina and gave their attack a directness it's lacked for years. Say his name right and you'll sound like you actually watched the games: it's pronounced en-DOY-eh, not "en-doy."
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5Switzerland leave as the team that quietly had one of the best tournaments of anyone eliminated before the semifinals. Manager Murat Yakin will get plenty of credit for a run that outperformed expectations, and Swiss football gets a genuine talking point for the next four years: 1954 no longer being the answer to 'when did Switzerland last do this well.'
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Top thing to say down the pub
Switzerland's best World Cup since 1954 ended the way most great Swiss runs seem to — on penalties won, then a red card and extra time lost to Argentina in the quarterfinal.
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Avoid saying
"Switzerland were never going to do anything anyway" — they just posted their best World Cup finish in 70 years and took Argentina to extra time with 10 men. Say that instead and you'll sound like you were paying attention.
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1Colombia's World Cup ended in the cruellest way possible: a 0-0 stalemate with Switzerland in the Round of 16, settled on penalties, where the Swiss held their nerve 4-3. Twenty minutes of extra time and nobody could score — that's either agonising or oddly fitting, depending on how you feel about penalty shootouts as a concept.
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2The high point was a near-perfect run before that: beating Uzbekistan 3-1, then holding Portugal to a scoreless draw to finish top of a tough group, followed by a 1-0 win over Ghana in the Round of 32. That's four games unbeaten, including a result against a team with Cristiano Ronaldo on it, before penalties finally got them.
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3Right-back Daniel Muñoz quietly became one of the stories of the group stage, scoring in wins over both Uzbekistan and DR Congo — not bad for a position where you're mostly supposed to just not concede.
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4Luis Díaz, now at Bayern Munich after leaving Liverpool, was Colombia's main attacking threat throughout. James Rodríguez, 34 and now Colombia's all-time World Cup appearance leader, ran things from midfield as captain — still doing the job he's done since 2014.
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5After the Switzerland exit, Colombian football royalty like Falcao were publicly unimpressed with how it ended. Worth remembering if it comes up: topping a group with Portugal in it and reaching the Round of 16 is a solid tournament by recent Colombian standards — the criticism is more about expectations than the actual results.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Colombia topped a group with Portugal in it, then went out to Switzerland on penalties without either side scoring a goal in 120 minutes — genuinely one of the more Colombian ways this could have ended.
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Avoid saying
"They always bottle it in the knockouts" — they beat Ghana 1-0 in the Round of 32 and only lost on penalties after 120 goalless minutes with Switzerland. That's not bottling it, that's just penalties being penalties.