Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel hailed what he called an \u201cincredible, incredible achievement\u201d after his team edged Colombia 4-3 on penalties in Vancouver on Tuesday, securing a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years.<\/p>\n
Wearing the gloves at his first World Cup, the Borussia Dortmund keeper played a decisive role as he denied Cucho Hernandez from the spot with a dramatic save to his right. The victory also marked a turnaround after Switzerland had suffered three consecutive exits in the last 16, and it sets up a quarter-final against defending champions Argentina.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think you can overstate what a huge achievement this is for us, for this team, for Switzerland,\u201d Kobel said. \u201cFor such a small country to be among the top eight teams in the world in the biggest sport on the planet is unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI\u2019m incredibly happy for every individual, for the supporters, for everyone who gets to experience a moment like this. And when I think about all the lads who\u2019ve been part of this team for years, and all the people who are here today, it\u2019s impossible to put into words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t praise it highly enough. It\u2019s an amazing feeling and an incredible, incredible achievement,\u201d Kobel concluded.<\/p>\n
In the shoot-out, Colombia\u2019s Davison Sanchez struck the crossbar to give Switzerland an early edge. However, Switzerland\u2019s Manuel Akanji then sent his effort over the bar, briefly swinging the momentum back. Kobel\u2019s decisive stop kept Switzerland in control at a critical moment, and it paved the way for Ruben Vargas to convert the winning penalty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to say, I was pretty focused in the moment,\u201d Kobel said. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have huge emotional highs and lows during it. But saving that penalty was a massive moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described the atmosphere inside the group as the defining feature of the night: \u201cSeeing the lads, seeing everyone urging each other on, seeing how much they were behind each other, the emotions that came out \u2013 you can\u2019t get that anywhere else. It\u2019s unique and it\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Switzerland\u2019s fate on the line from 12 yards, Kobel said he never lost belief. \u201cI had a huge amount of faith throughout the entire shoot-out, both in the lads and their ability to score penalties, and of course in my own abilities as well. And I\u2019m absolutely over the moon that it all worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel hailed what he called an \u201cincredible, incredible achievement\u201d after his team edged Colombia 4-3 on penalties in Vancouver on Tuesday, securing a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years. Wearing the gloves at his first World Cup, the Borussia Dortmund keeper played a decisive role […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Gregor Kobel Leads Switzerland to First World Cup QF in 72 Years","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Gregor Kobel stars as Switzerland beat Colombia on penalties to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years ","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n