Colombia Had the Better Chances. Switzerland Had the Better Nerve. The Penalty Shootout Explained.

The same day Argentina staged their comeback, another round-of-16 game told the opposite psychological story — quieter, colder, and just as revealing.

Colombia and Switzerland played out a goalless 120 minutes in Vancouver, in front of a stadium overwhelmingly dressed in Colombian yellow. Colombia created the better chances. Jhon Lucumí hit the crossbar. Jáminton Campaz, through on goal after a defensive mistake, blazed over the bar. By most measures, they were the better side.

Then came penalties. And Switzerland won 4-3.

Here's the uncomfortable truth about shootouts: they rarely reward the better team. They reward the team that manages pressure best in a handful of isolated, terrifying moments. That's a psychology story, not a talent story.

What actually decided it

Colombia missed twice. Davinson Sánchez smashed his effort against the bar. Cucho Hernández had his shot saved by Gregor Kobel. Switzerland missed once — Manuel Akanji ballooned his over — but their goalkeeper made the save that mattered, and Rubén Vargas calmly buried the winner.

Notice something: Vargas had left training early the day before with a knock and only came on in stoppage time. He'd barely played. Yet he stepped up in the highest-pressure moment of the match and scored. Meanwhile, some of Colombia's most experienced players faltered.

Why a penalty is 90% mental

A penalty is one of the few moments in team sport that is almost entirely individual and almost entirely mental. The distance is fixed. The technique is something these players have executed ten thousand times. Nothing physical changes between a penalty in training and a penalty in a World Cup shootout — except everything happening inside the mind.

That's why penalties are the purest test of pressure management in all of sport. And it's why they can be trained.

The three lessons

1. Pressure exposes your routine — or your lack of one. Players who miss under pressure often abandon what they normally do: they rush, they change their mind mid-run-up, they aim for power instead of precision. Players who score have a fixed, rehearsed routine they can lean on when their heart is pounding. The routine is the anchor.

2. "Needing" to score is different from wanting to. When Cucho Hernández stepped up, Colombia needed the goal. That need adds weight to the moment. The best penalty takers narrow their focus to the process — one spot, one strike — and shut out the consequence. Easy to say. Very hard to do without training.

3. Being fresh isn't the same as being ready. Vargas had barely played and still delivered. Match rhythm helps, but mental readiness — the ability to be calm and clear in a single decisive moment — is its own separate skill.

Why this matters for you

Life hands you penalty moments. The interview. The hard conversation. The one shot you've prepared for that arrives all at once, with everyone watching.

You can't always control whether you get more chances than the other person. Colombia had the better chances all night and still went home. What you can train is your nerve in the moment that counts — your routine, your focus, your ability to keep the consequence out of your head while you execute.

That's the difference between the better team and the team that goes through. And it's the difference you can actually work on.

Want to build your nerve for the moments that matter? Book a free call with Coach Mateo.