The Vancouver lottery: Switzerland win on penalties and reach the quarterfinals after 72 years

At 10:47pm in Vancouver, Ruben Vargas struck Switzerland's fifth penalty and the ball flew into the bottom left corner. Gregor Kobel dropped to his knees. Granit Xhaka ran to him with open arms. On the Colombian bench, Cucho Hernández — who had seen his own attempt saved by Kobel two kicks earlier — stood motionless with his hands over his face.

Colombia controlled the ball better. Colombia created more chances. Colombia produced an xG of 1.03 to Switzerland's 0.35 — numbers that, on any other night, would decide the winner without debate. But across 120 minutes at BC Place, the Colombian goal never came. Davinson Sánchez hit the post. Kobel saved what was left.

After the shootout — always a lottery — Switzerland advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954, when they were the tournament's hosts. 72 years of waiting. For Colombia, the goodbye comes with the feeling that they deserved more. Football isn't always fair. Penalty shootouts never are.

The only previous World Cup meeting

The only time Switzerland and Colombia had ever met at a World Cup was 1994, in the United States, in Group A, in Palo Alto. It was Colombia's quietest match at that tournament: a 2–0 win with goals from Adolfo Valencia and Harold Lozano. The Cafeteros — arriving with huge expectations after thrashing Argentina 5–0 in qualifying — would go out in the group stage of a World Cup that would forever be marked by the tragedy of Andrés Escobar.

32 years later, the two meet again. This time in the round of 16. This time with no goals in 120 minutes. This time with a penalty shootout to decide history.

Head-to-head

Switzerland at World Cups

Switzerland are one of Europe's most consistent teams — rarely spectacular, rarely absent. Their best moment was 1954, as hosts, when they reached the quarterfinals before losing to Austria 7–5, the highest-scoring match in World Cup history. Since then, they've become second-week regulars but never reached the quarterfinals again: round of 16 exits in 2006, 2014 and 2018, and in 2022 a 6–1 thrashing by Portugal in the round of 16. In 2026, in Vancouver, they reached a stage they hadn't seen in 72 years — not through game control, but through cool nerves in the shootout and Kobel's imperious presence in goal.

Colombia at World Cups

The great Colombian generation peaked in 2014 in Brazil: top of their group, a thrashing of Uruguay in the round of 16 and the first quarterfinal in their history, eliminated by Brazil 2–1 in a fierce game, with James Rodríguez top-scorer of the tournament with six goals. Then came the penalty-shootout loss to England in 2018 and the absence in 2022. The 2026 return was the chance for a new generation — Díaz at Bayern, Arias at Fluminense, Lerma at Crystal Palace — to repeat the feat. They go out in the round of 16. But they go out with the xG on their side.

Match sheet

Penalties: Switzerland 4, Colombia 3.

• Xhaka (SUI) — scored
• Quintero (COL) — scored
• Amdouni (SUI) — scored
• D. Sánchez (COL) — hit the post
• Akanji (SUI) — off target
• Campaz (COL) — scored
• Itten (SUI) — scored
• Cucho Hernández (COL) — saved by Kobel
• Vargas (SUI) — scored (4–3)
• Luis Díaz (COL) — scored

Switzerland's standouts

Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund, 28). Over 120 minutes he saved everything he needed to save and got Switzerland to the shootout. In the sequence itself, he was even more decisive: at 2–2, he dove right and parried Cucho Hernández's fierce strike. In that moment, Switzerland's fate passed into the hands of a keeper simply on fire.

Granit Xhaka (Sunderland, 33). The captain took the first penalty — the hardest, the one that sets the tone — and put it in the corner without hesitation. Over the 120 minutes he was the dam that broke up Colombia's advances: interceptions, covers, organization in the mid-block. Not the kind of performance that shows up in highlight reels, but the kind that wins hard games.

Ruben Vargas (FC Augsburg, 26). Switzerland's fifth penalty, the one that would send the Swiss to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954. Vargas placed it in the bottom-left corner with the precision of a man who had rehearsed it a thousand times in his head. His name goes into this story.

Colombia's standouts

Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich, 29). Colombia's most dangerous player over the 120 minutes. He dribbled, accelerated, cut inside and created spaces that didn't exist before he got there. In the shootout, he took his kick coolly to the bottom left — Kobel went the other way. The bitter irony: his decisive moment never arrived during the game itself.

Davinson Sánchez (Galatasaray, 30). He got into the opposition box from a long ball and headed with force — the ball hit the post. He was defensively solid the whole match. But in the shootout, the second Colombian penalty also hit the post off his boot. From there, Colombia were in a sequence that wouldn't forgive further mistakes.

Juan Fernando Quintero (Junior de Barranquilla, 33). He's no longer the youngster who decided a Libertadores final. At 33, he's the touch player, the one who slows the pace when needed and speeds it up when space appears. He took Colombia's first penalty and scored. He was the silent midfield engine that gave fluency to the Cafetero attack.

Market value: €300 million vs €330 million

Switzerland's squad is valued at around €330 million, with Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest, 24) the most valuable piece at €42 million. Colombia's squad is valued at around €300 million, but they had the most valuable individual player on the pitch: Luis Díaz, valued at €75 million on Transfermarkt in 2026. The symbolic detail: Colombia had the best individual player in the match and still went out.

Next opponent

In the quarterfinals Switzerland face Argentina — the reigning world champions, with Messi chasing back-to-back titles. A clash of styles: European solidity from Xhaka, Akanji and Kobel against a team that survived Egypt at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with three goals in eleven minutes. You'll follow it all here on Guriball.