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After 120 scoreless minutes and a tense penalty shootout, Switzerland became the last team to progress to the quarter-finals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, outlasting Colombia.
BC Place Vancouver was a sea of yellow as it was solidly behind Colombia and the large crowd saw both teams play great defensively on Tuesday afternoon.
Both Colombia and Switzerland entered this tournament with one knockout win in their respective histories. Colombia’s victory came in 2014 against Uruguay, while Switzerland overcame Germany in 1938. After victories in the round of 16, both teams had the chance to make this the undisputed best World Cup in their country’s history.
In the end it went to Switzerland, who have been on a steady rise over the past decade and now face reigning champions Argentina in the quarter-finals.
Here are my four takeaways from Tuesday’s game:
1. Extremely tight defense
Tuesday’s game was relatively tough, as neither side scored over 120 minutes of play. (Photo by Christopher Morris/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Both Colombia and Switzerland played well heading into this match, with each team winning their respective group (both teams were 2-1-0 in group play) followed by impressive victories in the Round of 16. The heart of the success of each team had been their defensive discipline and form.
Combined with the high amount of respect the teams had for each other, it made for a very cakey start, with each team quickly returning to defensive shape when possession was lost. The game needed an individual moment of brilliance, but neither team seemed willing to take the risk of committing many players in attack. Colombia’s Gustavo Puerta had the first real chance of the game in the 21st minute when he forced a great save from Gregor Kobel.
The game started to open up a little after the first half hydration break. Colombia’s Camilo Vargas was forced to make a couple of saves from Swiss wingers Dan Ndoye and Fabian Rieder just after the half-hour mark.
In the second half, Colombia began to press a little further, and head coach Néstor Lorenzo made offensive substitutions in the 66th and 83rd minutes. Switzerland had a bit more space to operate but were unable to create in the first 90 minutes.
As is the case with low-scoring games, it’s not all about defense. There was also a failure of the players to step up and make the big play that no one saw coming. Switzerland clearly missed Johan Manzambi, who suffered a knee injury in the team’s last practice. The 20-year-old versatile Freiburg forward has been Switzerland’s best player in the last three games with three goals and two assists.
The match ended 120 minutes with only three shots on goal for Colombia and two for Switzerland.
2. Not many mistakes
It’s hardly the first time that a World Cup game has been very defensive, but what made this game very different is that there were very few errors from either team. Teams completed passes inside their own half of the pitch to avoid giving the opposition golden chances. There weren’t many teams that gave dangerous set-pieces; defensive clearances were effective in getting the ball out of danger.
The credit for this goes to the outstanding play of the central defenders for both teams. Switzerland’s Manuel Akanji and Nico Elvedi, along with Colombia’s Davinson Sánchez and Jhon Lucumí, were all excellent and handled everything that came their way. Lucumí almost broke the deadlock in extra time when his header rattled the crossbar in the game’s closest opportunity. Meanwhile, the Swiss backline was able to neutralize Luis Díaz, who is one of the best wingers in the world.
Curiously, the worst miss of the game came in the 115th minute when the game’s most experienced and reliable midfielder, Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka, made a clearance and presented Jaminton Campaz with a golden chance, who then fired over the bar.
3. Confident Swiss penalty takers
When the game went to penalties, it was all up and down, but Switzerland converted four out of five attempts with confidence. The only Swiss player to miss out was Manuel Akanji, who had a great game in central defence. This time, his Swiss teammates were able to save him after he missed a shootout attempt in a loss to England in the knockout stages of UEFA Euro 2024.
Throughout extra time, it seemed as if Switzerland were the team more comfortable with the game going to a penalty shootout. It was a bold strategy and it paid off as Granit Xhaka, Zeki Amdouni, Cedric Itten and Rubén Vargas all looked strong with their attempts.
4. Best Swiss team in history
Murat Yakin has helped Switzerland reach new heights in his time as its head coach (Photo by Jared C. Tilton – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
With its run to the quarterfinals, this is the best Swiss team in program history, and this run has been a long time coming.
Head coach Murat Yakin has been the architect of the team’s success, which has seen it become one of Europe’s most improved teams in the last two decades. Now in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Yakin has Switzerland, which plays consistently well in major tournaments.
Switzerland performed excellently in the World Cup qualifiers as they did not lose a match. The Swiss also scored 14 goals and conceded just twice during qualifying.
Yakin took over in 2021 and led the team to qualification for the World Cup in 2022. At the World Cup in Qatar, Switzerland advanced to the round of 16. At Euro 2024, Switzerland took it one step further by defeating reigning champions Italy in the round of 16 before losing to England in a shootout in the quarter-finals.
Yankin has opted for experience in building his team, and against Colombia no outfielder in the starting line-up had fewer than 31 caps.
Despite a poor start to the tournament against Qatar, Yakin has his team playing well and as a manager he has done a fantastic job of taking his team to the next level.
