Switzerland beat Colombia on penalties, Argentina await in the quarters

You're in the quarter-finals

Switzerland beat Colombia 0–0 (4–3 on penalties) in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, and you are through to the last eight of a World Cup for the first time since 1954 (1) (2). Gregor Kobel made himself a national hero. Rubén Vargas buried the winning penalty. Manuel Akanji missed his, and he is not touching a spot-kick again.

Akanji: "That was my last one"

Akanji stepped up, saw his penalty saved, and decided he is done. "I told Muri that was the last penalty I've taken. It was a catastrophe," the defender said after the match (3) (4). His World Cup shootout record now reads three attempts, three misses. Yakin had him down as the fifth taker. Akanji's miss did not matter in the end, but he was not in the mood to laugh about it.

Kobel: you cannot overstate this

Kobel did not just save one penalty, he set the tone. After Luis Javier Suárez put Colombia's second attempt over the bar, Kobel stopped Davinson Sánchez's effort and suddenly Switzerland had control (5) (14). The Dortmund keeper was beaming afterwards. "You cannot rate this highly enough," he said (6). Hard to argue.

Vargas sends you through, Argentina next

Vargas held his nerve from the spot and Switzerland had their 4–3 shootout win (13) (15). The reward: Argentina in the quarter-finals on Sunday at 3:00 CEST, with Lionel Messi and the reigning champions waiting (7) (11) (12). Miro Muheim had the line of the night in the buildup. Messi? "He's a world-class player, but he also puts his pants on one leg at a time" (11).

A history of penalties, rewritten

Switzerland carry World Cup shootout baggage. Three missed penalties against Ukraine in 2006 haunted the program for two decades (1). Tuesday night erased that. Yakin's meticulous preparation, drilled set-piece routines, and a squad that never looked rattled paid off. The combined xG across 120 minutes was just 0.7, the lowest of any match at this tournament (Reddit). Nobody will remember that. They will remember Kobel, Vargas, and the noise.

Fan-reaktioner

Zurich erupted. Videos surfaced overnight of crowds flooding the streets, flares lighting up the city center, and the squad's reaction the moment the winning penalty went in (Reddit). The xG stat made the rounds too. 0.7 combined across 120 minutes, comfortably the dullest game of the World Cup until penalties turned it into the most memorable night in Swiss football for 72 years.