VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) 鈥� In a match with few fireworks, the Swiss were patient against the Colombians and their enthusiastic fans.
After a scoreless draw, Ruben Vargas converted the decisive penalty and Switzerland advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Colombia 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday.
Switzerland will face defending champion Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. earlier in the day.
Switzerland had not reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup since hosting the tournament in 1954. And the Swiss were short-handed Tuesday without young , who was injured in training on Monday.
Vargas, who has scored two goals in the World Cup, also left Monday鈥檚 training early but came on in stoppage time at the end of regulation.
In the shootout, Colombia defender Davinson S谩nchez’s penalty attempt hit the crossbar and Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved an attempt by Cucho Hern谩ndez.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, a Swiss citizen, was among those at BC Place, where the sellout crowd of 52,497 was overwhelmingly clad in yellow in support of Colombia.
鈥淭hey had the crowd on their side, so it was a tough game for us,鈥� Kobel said. 鈥淲e 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.鈥�
Colombia failed to qualify for the last World Cup in 2022. Los Cafeteros made the quarterfinals at the 2014 tournament in Brazil, defeating Uruguay in the round of 16 before losing to the host country 2-1.
鈥淭he dream was enormous,鈥� Colombia midfielder Jhon Arias said. 鈥淭he 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.鈥�
The Swiss reached the round of 16 at the past three World Cups but failed to advance with a smaller field of 32 teams.
鈥淲e worked very hard, and now we have this opportunity,鈥� Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. 鈥淭his is going to be a very interesting matchup from our point of view. We will try to compete against the reigning champions and it鈥檚 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.鈥�
The match was tightly contested by two teams with contrasting styles, the Swiss with a more organized and methodical approach and Colombia more attack-oriented and physical. Switzerland had a slight edge in possession.
Manzambi, a 20-year-old midfielder who plays for German club Freiburg, has three goals in the World Cup, becoming one of the tournament鈥檚 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 Rieder鈥檚 blast at goalkeeper 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 minute, but Rieder鈥檚 attempt curled around the wall and went into the side netting.
In the first extra time period, Jhon Lucumi鈥檚 header hit the crossbar and caromed away as Colombia put pressure on Kobel.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you can overstate what a huge success this is 鈥� for us, for this team, for Switzerland, for such a small country. To be among the top eight teams in the world is incredible,鈥� Kobel said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an unbelievable feeling. I鈥檓 incredibly proud.鈥�
Colombia and Switzerland also met in the group stage at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, with Los Cafeteros winning 2-0.
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