Switzerland have booked their place in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in 72 years with a stunning win over Colombia in the round of 16 on Wednesday (IST). The Rossocrociati defeated Los Cafeteros 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw in regulation and extra time at BC Place in Vancouver.
Ruben Vargas scored the decisive penalty for Murat Yakin’s men when he slotted one into the bottom right to send Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas the wrong way to win it for his team. Earlier, Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel had made a very crucial save on the fourth attempt by Cucho Hernandez to give his side a chance to restore the lead, which Cedric Itten did on the fourth attempt for Switzerland when he hit one into the middle. Switzerland will face Argentina in the quarterfinal after the defending champions overcame a massive scare from Egypt in their own round of 16 clash.
Switzerland denies partisan Colombian crowd
The DC Place was a sellout with most of the spectators out of the 52,497 present being Colombian supporters. FIFA President Gianni Infantino was also present at the venue as Switzerland denied the partisan crowd of a memorable win. “They had the crowd on their side, so it was a tough game for us,” Kobel said after the game. “We know we had some stretches of the game where we had to defend and stay strong mentally. Obviously we had a few players missing so, yeah, it was a big challenge for us.”
Switzerland up against Argentina in quarters
It was in 1954 that the Swiss side advanced to the last eight stage of the World Cup, having been knocked out in the round of 16 in the previous three editions. They will now be up against defending champions Argentina in the quarterfinal as they bid for their best-ever result in the global showpiece. Coach Murat Yakin is “excited” for the upcoming clash, which will take place at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday.
“We worked very hard, and now we have this opportunity,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “This is going to be a very interesting matchup from our point of view. We will try to compete against the reigning champions and it’s going to be amazing. Switzerland against Argentina in a quarterfinal. I am so excited. I think that I need maybe a couple of hours more or another day to process what just happened, and then tomorrow we will start focusing on Argentina.”
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