▲ Paraguay players celebrate with goalkeeper Hill after winning the penalty shootout.
Paraguay has halted the "German Tank" and advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
The Paraguay national football team, led by head coach Gustavo Alfaro, defeated Germany 4-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes of play, including extra time, in the Round of 32 match held at Boston Stadium in Massachusetts, USA, on the morning of June 30 (Korea Standard Time).
Paraguay, which reached the tournament for the first time in 16 years since the 2010 South Africa World Cup where they made it to the quarterfinals, has now joined the ranks of the final 16.
The South Africa tournament featured 32 nations, and teams only needed to pass the group stage to reach the Round of 16.
On the other hand, Germany, aiming for its fifth title—its first in 12 years since the 2014 Brazil tournament—has been eliminated in the Round of 32.
Germany failed to pass the group stage in both the 2018 Russia and 2022 Qatar tournaments, and in this tournament, they were defeated in their first knockout match.
In Group E of the group stage, Germany secured first place early by defeating Curacao (7-1) and Ivory Coast (2-1), but lost 1-2 to Ecuador, finishing with 2 wins and 1 loss to advance to the Round of 32.
Conversely, Paraguay, which finished with 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss in Group D, barely made it to the Round of 32 as the 7th ranked team among the 12 third-place finishers, but pulled off an upset by defeating the powerhouse Germany.
Paraguay avenged their 0-1 loss to Germany in the Round of 16 at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup after 24 years.
Paraguay will now face the winner of the France-Sweden match on July 5 at Philadelphia Stadium to compete for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Right after the match began, a corner kick opportunity for Paraguay saw Junior Alonso's left-footed volley misfire, which was blocked by German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
In the 6th minute of the first half, a right-footed shot by Germany's Deniz Undav from the left side of the penalty area did not curl enough and missed the goal.
The deadlock was broken in the 42nd minute.
In a Paraguay attack, Matias Galarza received a through pass from Miguel Almiron and sent a cross from the right side of the penalty area, which Julio Enciso headed into the net from the center of the goal.
Germany, which trailed at halftime after failing to convert consecutive shots by Joshua Kimmich just before the break, leveled the score early in the second half, just 9 minutes in.
As Florian Wirtz sent a cross from the left side of the opponent's territory, Kai Havertz, with his back to the goal in the center of the penalty area, connected with a sensational back-header to score the equalizer.
In the 33rd minute of the second half, Germany missed a chance to turn the game around when Havertz's threatening header, following a cross from Wirtz, was saved by the goalkeeper.
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann made a bold move in the 43rd minute of the second half by substituting Leroy Sane for 198cm tall striker Nick Woltemade, but the match proceeded to the first extra time of this tournament.
Germany appeared to have taken the lead in the 12th minute of the first half of extra time with a header by Jonathan Tah from a corner kick.
However, the referee, through a video assistant referee (VAR) review, confirmed that Waldemar Anton had interfered with the defense of Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Hill and disallowed the goal due to a foul.
In the 14th minute of the second half of extra time, Germany's header by Anton following a corner kick went straight to the goalkeeper, and a subsequent right-footed free kick by Nadiem Amiri hit the side netting, leading the match to a penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, which began with Germany kicking first, Germany found itself on the brink as the shots of the first kicker, Havertz, and the fourth kicker, Woltemade, were blocked by Paraguay goalkeeper Hill.
Paraguay scored in succession starting with Mauricio, followed by Gustavo Gomez and Galarza.
Afterwards, Antonio Sanabria's shot missed the goal and Fabian Balbuena's kick was saved by Germany's veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, bringing the score to 3-3.
However, while the shot by Germany's 6th kicker, Tah, sailed over the bar, Paraguay's Jose Canale buried his kick into the net, finally deciding the fate of both teams.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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