Embodiments of the present invention are directed to forming a wrap-around contact (WAC) for a vertical field effect transistor (VFET). In a non-limiting embodiment of the invention, a top spacer is formed on a surface of a gate. A sacrificial spacer is formed on the top spacer. A source/drain region is formed over the top spacer and between sidewalls of the sacrificial spacer. The sacrificial spacer can be replaced with a wrap-around contact. The source/drain region can include a first material, the sacrificial spacer can include a second material, and the second material can be selected such that the second material can be etched selective to the first material.