Switzerland won 4-3 on penalties after 120 scoreless minutes against Colombia, riding Gregor Kobel's shootout heroics into a World Cup quarterfinal.
Bush’s PicksPicks madeJul 6, 11:27 PM CT
+153SUI=COL-153
-144SUI +0.5✓COL -0.5+147
+160Over 2.5✓Under 2.5-160
Best BetColombia to win=
Postgame
The moneyline was the swing and a miss, we leaned on Suarez's chemistry and Colombia's attacking depth without giving enough credit to a Swiss back line that shut down a supposedly sharper front three for two hours and then won it in the shootout. The spread and total both cashed clean, correctly reading this as a stalemate no matter who eventually advanced.
Pregame
Colombia are the more dangerous team left standing in this bracket, and the market prices them as clear favorites to advance. Losing Jhon Cordoba would sink most attacks, but Luis Suarez walked in cold against Ghana and delivered instantly, which says everything about the depth here. Back Colombia to get through, even if a stingy Swiss defense drags this deep into extra time.
Switzerland
+Manzambi has been the breakout story of the tournament
+Embolo and Ndoye combined for 2 goals in 49 seconds last time out
−Three regulars limped out of Monday's training session
−Losing even 1 of Manzambi, Vargas or Sow hurts badly
Colombia
+Suarez slotted in seamlessly and set up the winner vs Ghana
This one was decided by whoever blinked first from 12 yards, because nobody could find a way through in open play. Colombia carried the better chances all night, with Suarez and James probing a Swiss low block that simply refused to crack, and extra time nearly ended it twice, first when Lucumi's header clipped the crossbar, then when Vargas denied Amdouni before Campaz somehow put a one-on-one over the bar. Kobel was the difference in the shootout, guessing right to save Cucho Hernandez's attempt, and Ruben Vargas stepped up to bury the winner and send Switzerland through.
Colombia4-3-3
Switzerland4-2-3-1
Starting 11s.
Both benches made calls that shaped this. Switzerland lost Johan Manzambi to a training-ground knee injury before kickoff and had to reshuffle its attacking midfield around Ardon Jashari instead, a hole that never got fully patched but didn't get punished either. Colombia leaned on Luis Suarez up top with Jhon Cordoba out injured, and while Suarez linked play well with James and Diaz, the finishing touch just wasn't there across 120 minutes.
Show fees
FT
Spread
Advance
Total
Switzerland(3-2-0)
0
+0.5
-144
+153
o2.5
+160
Colombia(3-2-0)
0
-0.5
+147
-153
u2.5
-156
In-Game
Whale Buys
Advance includes extra time & pens; spread + total settle on 90 minutes.
Colombia went into this as the market's pick to get through, sitting around a 60 percent shot to advance on the closing numbers, and for long stretches they played like the better team. But favorites still have to finish, and a match that closed with a 0.5 goal spread and a 2.5 goal total on the board ended up going firmly to the under with neither side scoring in regulation.
Switzerland
(3-2-0)
Jul 7DvsColombia0-0
Jul 2WvsAlgeria2-0
Jun 24WvsCanada2-1
Jun 18WvsBosnia-Herzegovina4-1
Jun 13DvsQatar1-1
Colombia
(3-2-0)
Jul 7DvsSwitzerland0-0
Jul 3WvsGhana1-0
Jun 27DvsPortugal0-0
Jun 23WvsDR Congo1-0
Jun 17WvsUzbekistan3-1
Recent form.
Our card split right down the middle. We backed Colombia's moneyline on the strength of Suarez's instant chemistry and the James-Diaz puzzle, and stylistically that bull case held up, they were the sharper team for long stretches, but Switzerland's discipline and a stone-cold shootout ended that bet on the wrong side. The spread call on Switzerland avoiding a regulation loss cashed clean, exactly the stalemate we described after watching them shut out Algeria the same way. The under on total goals landed even easier, since neither team managed a single goal across 90 minutes.
Switzerland
(1)
DoubtfulJohan Manzambi — knee injury before kickoff, possible return for quarterfinal
Colombia
(0)
Fully healthy
Injury report.
Switzerland's reward is a first World Cup quarterfinal appearance since 1954, and they'll face Argentina in Kansas City on Saturday with a shot at pulling off a genuine surprise on the biggest stage left in this bracket.
Colombia0-0
Algeria2-0
Canada2-1
Bosnia-Herzegovina4-1
Qatar1-1
Ghana1-0
Portugal0-0
DR Congo1-0
Uzbekistan3-1