Penalty Shootout Curse Strikes Colombia Again

The Colombian national team was on the verge of matching their best-ever World Cup performance but ultimately fell short of reaching their second quarter-final in the tournament's history. "Los Cafeteros" were eliminated after a penalty shootout following a goalless draw with Switzerland in the final Round of 16 match of the 2026 World Cup.

However, this isn't the first, nor the second, time Colombia has been eliminated in such a manner in recent years. Since 2018, the team has gone to penalties five times, losing in four of those instances. This negative trend began in the Round of 16 at the World Cup in Russia, where the South Americans were defeated by England. In 2019, in the Copa América quarter-finals, the team was knocked out by Chile after a penalty shootout. Two years later, at the same stage of the same tournament, the Colombians managed to overcome Uruguay from the spot. However, their journey ended in the subsequent semi-final, once again after penalties, against Argentina. Last night, "Los Cafeteros" were eliminated in the same fashion by Switzerland, thus failing to qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals, a feat they achieved in 2014.