Jhon Lucumí came within inches of putting the Selección Colombia ahead in the 98th minute of extra time, but his header after a corner kick struck the post and left the match against Suiza tied. It was the clearest swing of the game for Colombia in a knockout match where one touch could have changed everything.
The chance mattered because Colombia had spent much of the closing stretch on the back foot. Suiza had created several of the best looks at the end of the 90 minutes and had tested Camilo Vargas repeatedly, while its defense held for more than 90 minutes. That made Lucumí’s moment stand out even more: after Suiza had been the more dangerous side, Colombia suddenly found itself a header away from a 1-0 lead.
Lucumí won the ball in the air and sent it toward goal with enough force to beat the line but not the post. The play came in an octavos de final match in the Mundial 2026, when pressure is measured in seconds and rebounds can decide whether a team stays alive or goes home. For Néstor Lorenzo’s Colombia, the immediate reality was simple: the Tricolor remained in the match with the score still level, but the best opening had slipped away.
That is what makes the miss sting. Colombia did not need a perfect attack to break through; it needed one clean header from a corner and a little more precision. Instead, the Lucumi Colombia moment became a near miss in a game already shaped by Suiza’s late pressure and Vargas’ saves. The next phase of the match hinged on whether Colombia could create another opening before the final whistle, because chances like that do not come twice very often.
