Switzerland-Colombia 4-3 (0-0 in the 120th minute)
SWITZERLAND (4-3-3): Kobel 6; Zakaria 5.5 (42′ st Widmer 6), Elvedi 6, Akanji 6, Rodriguez 6 (26′ st Muheim 6); Freuler 6, Xhaka 5.5, Jashari 5.5 (1′ st Sow 6); Rieder 6.5 (13′ pts Amdouni 6), Embolo 5.5 (42′ st Itten 6), Ndoye 6.5 (46′ st Vargas 6). On the bench: Mvogo, Keller, Fassnacht, Comert, Okafor, Amenda. Coach: Yakin 6.5.
COLOMBIA (4-3-3): Vargas 6; Munoz 6, D. Sanchez 6, Lucumi 6 (14′ sts Mina sv), Mojica 6; Arias 6 (21′ st Campaz 6), Lerma 6 (37′ st Rios 6), Puerta 6; J. Rodriguez 6 (21′ st Quintero 6), Suarez 5.5 (37′ st Hernandez 6), L. Diaz 6.5. On the bench: Ospina, Montero, S. Arias, Castano, Carrascal, Córdoba, Portilla, Ditta, Machado, Gomez. Coach: Lorenzo 5.5.
REFEREE: Barton (Slv) 6.
PENALTY SEQUENCE: Quintero goal, Xhaka goal, Sanchez crossbar, Amdouni goal, Campaz goal, Akanji out, Hernandez saved, Itten goal, Diaz goal, Vargas goal.
NOTES: clear afternoon; playing field in good condition. Booked: Xhaka, Zakaria, Suarez, Sanchez, Muheim. Corners: 7-3 for Colombia. Recovery time: 3′ st, 5′ st; 1′ sts, 1′ sts.
Switzerland flies to the quarter-finals of the World Cup by beating Colombia 4-3 on penalties, after a 0-0 draw at the end of 90 minutes and extra time. The errors of Sanchez and Hernandez from eleven meters were decisive, making the penalty missed by Akanji painless. Now in the quarterfinals there is the match against Argentina, fresh from the comeback success against Egypt. Switzerland chose to be cautious at the start of the match, remaining behind and granting possession to their opponents, who found their first opportunity in the 20th minute, when Puerta attempted a curling shot at the far post: Kobel flew and intercepted the ball. The scoring ball also seems to animate Switzerland. In the 30th minute Rieder enters the area and calls Vargas for the first save of the match. Two minutes later Ndoye also tries, but his left-footed diagonal creates no problems for the Colombian goalkeeper. Little else happens in the first half which ends with a 0-0 result.
The match struggled to take off even in the second 45 minutes. Switzerland tries to stay forward as before the break, but without creating major dangers in the area. In the 53rd minute Rieder tries with a free kick, but his shot ends up on the outside of the net. However, Swiss goalkeeper Kobel was almost inactive in the second half. The game is increasingly fragmented, frequently interrupted by the referee’s whistles due to an increasing number of fouls compared to the first part of the match. In injury time Colombia took a risk with a shot from Ndoye that went wide. The match slides towards the inevitable extra time. In the 99th minute the biggest opportunity of the match arrived, with a header from Lucumi from a corner that sent the ball onto the crossbar. Shortly afterwards, an important chance also for Switzerland, with the new substitute Amdouni who calls on Vargas to make a big intervention. Five minutes from the 120th minute, Campaz appears in front of Kobel, but from close range he shoots incredibly over the bar. We go to penalties, where Sanchez’s crossbar and Hernandez’s saved penalty weigh heavily. Inter player Akanji also makes a mistake, but Switzerland is still in the quarter-finals.