By Toby TAIWO
Switzerland had not played at the quarterfinals of the World Cup since 1954. That changed Tuesday, when Ruben Vargas converted hid penalty to beat Colombia 4-3.
The match had ended 0-0 at regulation time.
Switzerland will next face defending champion Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Argentina defeated Egypt 3-2 earlier in the day.
Vargas, who has scored two goals in the World Cup 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 goalkeeper 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 was overwhelmingly clad in yellow in support of Colombia.
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 Swiss reached the round of 16 at the past three World Cups but failed to advance with a smaller field of 32 teams.
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.
