Ruben Vargas sends Switzerland into WC quarterfinals in shootout win over Colombia

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Ruben Vargas converted his penalty and Switzerland advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals with a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Colombia after a scoreless draw on Tuesday.

Read more Unrelenting rain suspends Round 2 of the Massachusetts Amateur at Winchester Country Club

Switzerland will next face defending champion Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Argentina defeated Egypt, 3-2, earlier in the day.

Switzerland had not reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup since hosting the tournament in 1954. And the Swiss were shorthanded Tuesday without young midfielder Johan Manzambi, who was injured in training on Monday.

Vargas, who has scored two goals in the World Cup, also left Monday’s training early but was available off the bench and came on in stoppage time at the end of regulation.

Colombia defender Davinson Sanchez’s penalty attempt hit the crossbar, and Switzerland keeper Grego Kobel saved an attempt by Cucho Hernandez, giving the Swiss the edge in the shootout.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino was among those at BC Place, where the sellout crowd of 52,497 was overwhelmingly clad in yellow in support of Colombia.

“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 failed to qualify for the last World Cup in 2022. The team made the quarterfinals at the 2014 tournament in Brazil, defeating Uruguay in the round of 16 before losing to the host country, 2-1.

“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.”

The Swiss reached the round of 16 at the past three World Cups but failed to advance with a smaller field of 32 teams.

Read more Lionel Messi leads Argentina to comeback win over Egypt and spot in World Cup quarterfinals

“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.”

The match was tightly contested by two teams with contrasting styles, the Swiss with a more organized approach and Colombia more attack oriented. Switzerland had a slight edge in possession but both teams had two shots on goal.

Manzambi, a 20-year-old midfielder who plays for German club Freiburg, had three goals in the World Cup and was one of the tournament’s breakout stars. The Swiss were also without Luca Jaquez and midfielder Michel Aebischer.

Gustavo Puerta had the first good chance for Colombia with a shot from distance in the 21st minute that was pushed away by Kobel.

The Swiss got one of their best opportunities in the 30th with Fabian Reider’s blast at Camilo Vargas, who punched the ball down. Minutes later, Vargas smothered another attempt from Dan Ndoye.

The Swiss had a free kick in the 52nd, but Reider’s attempt curled around the wall and went into the side netting.

In the first extra time period, Jhon Lucumi’s header hit the cross bar and caromed away as Colombia put pressure on Kobel.

“I don’t think you can overstate what a huge success this is — for us, for this team, for Switzerland, for such a small country. To be among the top eight teams in the world is incredible,” Kobel said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’m incredibly proud.”

Colombia and Switzerland also met in the group stage at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, with the South American team winning, 2-0.

Read more After a World Cup opportunity lost, what does the future hold for the United States men’s team?