Paraguay caused a sensation by knocking Germany out of the 2026 World Cup in a penalty shoot-out
The Paraguayan national team pulled off a sensational victory over Germany in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup and progressed to the next round of the tournament.
The match at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, USA, ended in a 1–1 draw after normal and extra time. In the penalty shoot-out, the Paraguayan players proved the stronger side, winning 4–3.
Paraguay opened the scoring towards the end of the first half. In the 42nd minute, Julio Enciso headed home a cross from Matías Galarza on the right flank.
Early in the second half, Germany equalised. In the 54th minute, Kai Havertz headed the ball into the far corner following a cross from Florian Wirtz.
After the match ended in a draw in normal time, the teams continued their battle in extra time.
In the first period of extra time, the Germans came close to scoring the winning goal. In the 103rd minute, Jonathan Tah headed home a cross from Nathaniel Braun following a corner. Following a VAR review, the referee disallowed the goal due to a foul by Waldemar Anton on Paraguay’s goalkeeper, Orlando Hila.
The winner had to be decided on penalties. The Paraguayans proved more clinical, converting four penalties to their opponents’ three.
For Germany, Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Ta all missed their attempts. For Paraguay, Antonio Sanabria and Fabián Balbuena failed to score their penalties.
In the group stage, Germany finished top of Group E. The Bundesteam thrashed Curaçao 7–1, beat Côte d’Ivoire 2–1 and lost 1–2 to Ecuador.
Paraguay finished the group stage in third place in Group D. The team lost 1–4 to the USA, beat Turkey 1–0 and drew 0–0 with Australia.
In the round of 16, Paraguay will face the winner of the France v Sweden match. The match will take place on 1 July at 00:00 Kyiv time.
