120 minutes at BC Place in Vancouver. Zero goals. Then five penalty takers deciding the fate of the match, with Gregor Kobel making the save that settled it. Switzerland are in the quarter-finals of FIFA World Cup 2026™. Colombia are going home.
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120 Minutes of Near-Misses
The match never found a goal despite offering several moments that came desperately close. Both sides arrived well-organised and hard to break down, and for long stretches the midfield was where the match lived — neither team willing to commit men forward without cover behind.
The first real opening came in the 21st minute. Gustavo Puerta curled a strike toward the far corner from 18 yards — Kobel flew to his left and parried it away. Switzerland responded in the 29th minute when Fabian Rieder found a tight angle and drove a left-footed volley that Camilo Vargas blocked sharply. Two saves. No goals. The pattern for the evening was already set.
Ninety minutes passed without a goal, but not without drama. The match had moments of genuine quality buried inside the defensive caution — Luis Díaz’s creativity a constant threat on Colombia’s left, Switzerland’s width through Ndoye keeping the Colombian backline honest. Ndoye himself came closest in regulation, latching onto a loose ball in the 90th minute and dragging his low shot inches wide of the far post. A winner that simply refused to go in.
Extra time brought the match’s most heart-in-mouth sequence. Jhon Lucumí rose completely unmarked from a 99th-minute corner and powered a header that crashed off the crossbar. Six minutes later, substitute Zeki Amdouni found space on the edge of the box and forced Vargas into a sharp diving block. In the 115th minute, Granit Xhaka gave the ball away just outside his own penalty area — Jaminton Campaz broke clean through but blazed his chance high over the crossbar. Switzerland survived. Penalties awaited.
The Shootout — Kobel Wins It
Colombia went first. Juan Fernando Quintero scored. Xhaka responded for Switzerland — a powerful shot into the upper left that Vargas touched but could not keep out. 1–1.
Davinson Sánchez stepped up for Colombia’s second and drove it against the underside of the crossbar. It bounced away. Amdouni scored Switzerland’s second with a cool, composed finish. 1–2 to Switzerland.
Campaz scored Colombia’s third. Akanji blasted Switzerland’s third over the crossbar entirely. 2–2, and the shootout was back in the balance.
Then came the moment. Cucho Hernández — Colombia’s fourth taker — tried to place his shot. Kobel had read it. He dived across, grabbed it with both hands, and blocked it away. Save. Cedric Itten stepped up and slotted Switzerland’s fourth into the net. 2–3.
Luis Díaz scored Colombia’s fifth under maximum pressure to keep them alive. 3–3. Switzerland needed Rubén Vargas to score the winner. He sent Camilo Vargas completely the wrong way and put it into the net. 3–4. Switzerland through.
Kobel — The Difference
Gregor Kobel made saves across 120 minutes and then produced the crucial penalty stop against Cucho Hernández when Switzerland needed it most. Without that save, Colombia would have scored their fourth, and the match would have continued. With it, Switzerland had the platform to win.
He was the best goalkeeper on the pitch across the full 120 minutes and the shootout. This was his night.
Colombia — Undone by Missed Penalties, Not by the Match
Colombia were not the lesser team across 120 minutes. Lucumí’s crossbar, Puerta’s first-half chance, the Campaz one-on-one in the 115th minute — they created enough to win this match in normal time and extra time. Sánchez hitting the crossbar and Cucho’s saved penalty were the moments that ended their tournament. It is a brutal way to go out.
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Switzerland face Argentina in the quarter-finals. Argentina came back from 2–0 down against Egypt. Switzerland survived 120 minutes and a penalty shootout against Colombia. Neither side has made things easy for themselves.
The FIFA World Cup 2026™ quarter-finals are set. Watch Switzerland vs Argentina and every quarter-final live in India on ZEE 5.
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