FIFA World Cup: Paraguay knock out Germany in penalty shootout
What's the story
In a shocking turn of events, Team Paraguay has knocked out Germany from the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Round of 32 match ended in a penalty shootout after both teams were tied at 1-1 at the end of extra time at the Boston Stadium. This is being hailed as one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, with Paraguay ranked 41st and Germany a much higher 10th by FIFA.
Match highlights
VAR denies Germany goal; Havertz equalizes for Germany
The match took a dramatic turn when Julio Enciso put Paraguay ahead with a header just before half-time. However, Germany fought back in the second half with Kai Havertz scoring an equalizer. The match went into extra time after neither team could break the deadlock in regular time. A Jonathan Tah goal for Germany was ruled out by VAR review for a foul on Paraguay's goalkeeper Orlando Gill, further intensifying the nail-biting contest.
Shootout saga
First World Cup defeat in a penalty shootout for Germany
In the penalty shootout, Havertz missed the first kick for Germany. Despite Paraguay missing two penalties, they capitalized on Tah's miss and secured a 4-3 victory with Jose Canale scoring the decisive spot-kick. This defeat marks Germany's first-ever loss in a World Cup shootout and their failure to reach the last 16 since winning the tournament in 2014.
Next steps
Paraguay script history; Germany face comparison to 1994 upset
Paraguay's victory over Germany is a major milestone as they had never scored in their first four knockout appearances. They will now face either France or Sweden in the Round of 16 on July 4. Meanwhile, Germany's defeat is being compared to Bulgaria's upset over them in the quarterfinals of the US 1994 World Cup, which was another major upset at this stage of the tournament.
Stats
Here are the match stats
From 21 attempts, Germany recorded seven shots on target. Paraguay managed four strikes on target from seven attempts. The German team had a stunning 75% ball possession in the game. They completed 753 passes with a fine 92% accuracy. Paraguay's passes count was 262. Their accuracy was 69%.
Landmarks
Here are the key landmarks
As per Opta, both times Paraguay have advanced in the knockout stages of the World Cup have been on penalties. They had earlier beaten Japan in the same way back in 2010. Germany lost a penalty shootout at the World Cup for the first time. This is the fourth instance of Germany failing to make the Quarter-Finals of the World Cup. Germany suffered their first-ever World Cup elimination via a penalty shootout, having won their previous four