When Ruben Vargas placed the ball on the spot in Vancouver on Tuesday night, Switzerland needed one more penalty kick to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 1954. The tension was high. But he scored. For Colombians, it was devastating. For Dominicans, however, it carried a painful kind of pride.

Vargas, 27, was born in Adligenswil, Switzerland, to a Dominican father named Victor Vargas, known as “Filete,” and a Swiss mother. He holds citizenship in both countries. On Tuesday in Vancouver, that background made him more than just the man who sent Switzerland to the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup.

Ruben Vargas Came Off the Bench With 90 Seconds Left and Still Decided the Game

The match itself was not a spectacle. Switzerland and Colombia finished a scoreless 120 minutes that Goal.com described as “one of the worst games of the tournament.” The Swiss were already short-handed, without midfielder Johan Manzambi, who had been injured in training on Monday, as well as defender Luca Jaquez and midfielder Michel Aebischer. Vargas himself had left practice early and was not expected to play.

Still, he came on in the 92nd minute.

In the shootout, Colombia’s Davinson Sánchez hit the crossbar. Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel saved Cucho Hernández’s attempt. Then Vargas stepped up fifth, placed it perfectly, and Switzerland was through.

“I don’t think you can overstate what a huge success this is,” Kobel told the Associated Press. “For us, for this team, for Switzerland, for such a small country. To be among the top eight teams in a FIFA World Cup is incredible.”

Switzerland coach Murat Yakin could barely contain himself. “Switzerland against Argentina in a quarterfinal,” he told the Associated Press. “I am so excited. I think that I need maybe a couple of hours more or another day to process what just happened.”

A Latino-Swiss Talent

Ruben Vargas has represented Switzerland internationally since 2019, earning 66 caps and 13 goals for the national team. He carries that résumé into every tournament: the crucial penalty against France at Euro 2020, back-to-back group stage goals against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada at this World Cup, and now the decisive kick against Colombia.

His roots, or at least half of them, run through the Caribbean. And as our very own Dominican Man, Jean Fernandez said, the island claims its own, wherever they end up.

For Colombia, and for Many Latinos, the Pain Was Palpable, Even if There Was a Quiet and Silent Win Within

The sellout crowd of 52,497 at BC Place was overwhelmingly dressed in yellow, according to the Associated Press. And for most of them, Tuesday ended in tears. Luis Díaz, one of the tournament’s biggest stars and, per Goal.com, a legitimate Ballon d’Or contender heading into the match, could not deliver when Colombia needed him most.

Colombia midfielder Jhon Arias said what every fan was feeling after the final whistle: “The dream was enormous,” he told the Associated Press. “The country showed us that it believed in us, that it lived every moment with us, and I think that only makes the pain even greater.”

Now, Switzerland faces defending champion Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Vargas, fresh off the most important kick of this FIFA World Cup, will be there.

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