Switzerland booked a place in the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in more than seven decades after Ruben Vargas converted the decisive penalty in a 4-3 shootout win over Colombia following a goalless draw on Tuesday, reports AP.
The Swiss will now take on defending champions Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Argentina earlier defeated Egypt 3-2 to secure its quarterfinal berth.
Switzerland had not reached the last eight of a World Cup since hosting the tournament in 1954. The team was also without young midfielder Johan Manzambi, who suffered an injury during training on Monday.
Vargas, who has scored twice in the tournament, had also left Monday's training session early but came on during stoppage time at the end of regulation before converting the winning penalty.
In the shootout, Colombia defender Davinson Sánchez struck the crossbar with his penalty, while Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel denied Cucho Hernández to seal victory.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was among the spectators at BC Place, where a sellout crowd of 52,497, mostly dressed in Colombia's yellow colours, created a vibrant atmosphere.
"They had the crowd on their side, so it was a tough game for us," Kobel said. "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."
Colombia had failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
Their best recent performance came in 2014, when they reached the quarterfinals in Brazil after beating Uruguay in the round of 16 before losing 2-1 to the host nation.
"The dream was enormous," Colombia midfielder John Arias said. "The country showed us that it believed in us, that it lived every moment with us, and I think that only makes the pain even greater."
Switzerland had reached the round of 16 in each of the previous three World Cups but had been unable to progress further when the tournament featured 32 teams.
END/AP/ASA
