WC26: Switzerland Beats Colombia In Penalties To Reach Quarters

Switzerland defeated Colombia on penalties Tuesday in Vancouver to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 1954. Colombia held a 1.03 to 0.35 edge in expected goals across a goalless 120 minutes at BC Place. Substitute Ruben Vargas converted the decisive penalty after goalkeeper Gregor Kobel denied Cucho Hernandez. Earlier misses from Colombia's Davinson Sanchez and Switzerland's Manuel Akanji had kept the shootout tight before Kobel's intervention proved decisive. The result ended Switzerland's long history of shootout failure. The Swiss had won just one of their previous six penalty shootouts across all competitions and had never won one at a World Cup, having lost their only prior attempt against Ukraine in 2006. Coach Murat Yakin was candid in his relief afterward. "It took an incredible fight. Cleverness and patience, too. And then the penalty shootout at the end, we finally broke the curse," said Yakin. "Just unbelievable emotions. The feeling during the decisive penalty is fantastic, indescribable. A huge compliment to Kobel as well; he's playing a fantastic tournament." Akanji was self-critical about his miss. "I told Muri that was the last penalty I'd ever take. It was disastrous," said Akanji. "I'm incredibly proud of how the team reacted. We didn't play that well -- especially offensively, we were lacking a lot. But we were compact as a team." Captain Granit Xhaka acknowledged the scale of the next challenge. "That's a great reward," said Xhaka. "Goal No. 1 has been achieved, but when you're in the quarterfinals, the hunger is even greater than before. Now comes the big challenge with one of the greatest players." Switzerland face reigning champion Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.