Switzerland 0-0 Colombia [4-3p]: Penalty shootout sends Nati to the quarter-final | OneFootball

Switzerland sceured their spot in the quarter-final after a cagey affair with Colombia, which was decided on penalties, where Rubén Vargas netted the winner.

A chess-like affair with very few clear-cut chances saw the two sides play out a goalless draw after 90 and 120 minutes, meaning the match headed for a penalty shootout.

Two missed for Colombia, whilst Akanji fired over for Switzerland. However, Vargas stepped up to the plate and rolled the ball home to send Switzerland into the next round.

As it happened

Switzerland made two changes following their win over Algeria, with breakout star Johan Manzambi and Ruben Vargas being replaced by Fabian Rieder and Ardon Jashari. Meanwhile, Colombia made just one change, with Luis Suárez replacing Jhon Cordoba.

The first quarter of an hour was a settling-in period for both sides, without either creating any chances. In fact, it took 20 minutes for the first shot on target to arrive, when Gustavo Puerta cut inside on his right foot before seeing his curling effort well saved by Gregor Kobel.

As it often has during this tournament, momentum shifted after the hydration break, with Switzerland coming out firing afterwards. Rieder had the best chance of the first half-hour shortly after, when he saw his shot saved by Camilo Vargas at close quarters. They continued to push, with Daniel Ndoye testing Vargas again shortly after.

Ndoye looked to break free again five minutes later, but he was thwarted by a well-timed sliding tackle from Jefferson Lerma. As the first half drew to a close, Colombia began to dominate proceedings once again, but the Swiss defenders put their bodies on the line to block countless shots and keep the score at 0-0 heading into the break.

Murat Yakn turned to his bench at half-time and chose Djibril Sow to replace Jashari in the middle of the park. Sow almost made an immediate impact when Ndoye’s drilled cross went past everyone before finding the midfielder at the far post, but he slipped at the crucial moment and fired high and wide. Ndoye was at the centre of play again mere moments later when he saw penalty appeals rightfully waved away.

Granit Xhaka was shown the first yellow card of the night in the 50th minute after mis-timing a 50/50 challenge with Crystal Palace’s Daniel Muñoz. Switzerland came as close as they had done all night up to this point moments later, when Rieder’s free-kick rippled the side netting.

Dennis Zakaria was caught out in the 58th minute, fouling Luis Diáz inside the Colombia half and receiving a yellow card for his troubles. Diáz went straight up the other end and looked to get his side ahead, but his tame strike was easily saved by Kobel. The cards then continued to fly, with Suárez being shown a yellow by the referee.

A double change followed for Colombia, with Jaminton Campaz and Juan Quintero replacing Jhon Arias and James Rodriguez. Switzerland also made a change of their own, which saw Miro Muheim bring Ricardo Rodriguez’s 143rd Switzerland appearance to an end.

A nasty aerial clash between Vargas and Breel Embolo followed, with the Colombian goalkeeper seemingly coming off worse. However, both were able to continue. With less than 10 minutes of the 90 remaining, Colombia made another double substitution that saw Lerma and Suárez replaced by Richard Ríos and Juan Hernández. Switzerland followed suit, making a double change of their own, with former Rangers forward Cedric Itten replacing Embolo whilst Zakaria was withdrawn in favour of Silvan Widmer.

Ndoye burst into the area at the start of injury time, but failed to convert Switzerland’s best chance of the second half; he was then replaced by Vargas as extra time loomed. As they pushed for a winner, the Swiss won a corner in the 92nd minute, but it was cleared away by Davinson Sánchez at the near post, meaning the game headed for an extra 30 minutes as the two sides couldn’t be separated.

Colombia flew out of the traps in extra time, winning a free-kick and then having huge penalty appeals waved away once again. Sánchez was added to the referee’s notebook shortly after when he brought down Itten to stop a Switzerland counter.

Jhon Lucumí came inches away from giving Colombia the lead in the 99th minute, but his header was denied by a combination of the crossbar and Kobel. A similar situation occurred again two minutes later; this time, it was Campaz who was unlucky not to find the net with a long-range strike.

Switzerland’s final change saw Zeki Amdouni replace Reider as they went in search of an opening goal. It almost immediately paid off when his tricky run led to Vargas firing goalwards and forcing a strong save out of Vargas.

Muheim made his way into the book moments later for a foul on Campaz, bringing the first half of extra time to a close.

Quintero shifted the ball onto his left foot in the 112th minute, but lacked the quality on this occasion to pick out the top corner. Xhaka took on a similar effort at the other end of the pitch, but his strike curled over the crossbar.

The late chances continued to come and go, this time with Campaz breaking through the lines and firing over from 10 yards. Lucumi was withdrawn through injury with just a few minutes remaining; he was replaced by Yerry Mina for his first minutes at the tournament.

Neither side could find a goal after two hours of play, meaning we headed to a penalty shootout.

Quintero stepped up first for Colombia and fired it straight down the middle, sending Kobel the wrong way. Xhaka was first up for Switzerland and converted despite Vargas getting a hand to it.

Sánchez took Colombia’s second spot-kick and smashed the crossbar, giving Switzerland the chance to take the lead in the shootout. A chance which was calmly taken by Amdouni, who slotted into the bottom right corner with relative ease.

Campaz converted Colombia’s next penalty, whilst Manuel Akanji fired well over the crossbar to take the shootout level once more. The misses continued when Kobel denied Cucho Hernández before Itten fired straight down the middle to regain the Swiss lead.

Diáz came next for Colombia and converted with ease to keep his nation alive in the shootout. However, that only lasted a few seconds as Vargas rolled the ball into the bottom corner to send Switzerland to the quarter-final.

Penalties