KOR
▲ Paraguay players celebrate after defeating Germany in a penalty shootout following their Round of 32 match.
Paraguay has halted the journey of the German "Tank Corps," pulling off an upset to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
The Paraguayan national football team, led by head coach Gustavo Alfaro, drew 1-1 with Germany after 120 minutes of play, including extra time, in their Round of 32 match held today at Boston Stadium in Massachusetts, U.S. Paraguay then went on to win the penalty shootout 4-3.
Having returned to the World Cup finals for the first time in 16 years since the 2010 South Africa tournament, where they reached the quarterfinals, Paraguay has now secured a spot in the Round of 16.
In the 2010 South Africa tournament, 32 nations participated, and teams could advance to the Round of 16 simply by passing the group stage.
On the other hand, Germany, which was aiming for its fifth title—a feat that would have been their first in 12 years since the 2014 Brazil tournament—has been eliminated in the Round of 32.
Germany failed to even pass the group stage in the 2018 Russia and 2022 Qatar tournaments, and in this competition, they faced defeat in their first knockout match.
Germany had secured an early first-place finish in Group E after consecutive wins against Curacao (7-1) and Ivory Coast (2-1), but they entered the Round of 32 with a 2-1 record after losing their final group match to Ecuador.
Conversely, Paraguay, which finished with a record of one win, one draw, and one loss in Group D, barely made it to the Round of 32 as the 7th-ranked team among the 12 third-place finishers, only to pull off a stunning upset against the powerhouse Germany.
Paraguay has now avenged their 0-1 loss to Germany in the Round of 16 at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, 24 years later.
Paraguay will now face the winner of the France-Sweden match on July 5 at Philadelphia Stadium for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Early in the match, Paraguay had a corner kick opportunity where Junior Alonso's left-footed volley was mis-hit and blocked by German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
In the 6th minute, Germany's Deniz Undav fired a right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area, but the ball failed to curl enough and missed the goal.
The deadlock was broken in the 42nd minute.
Following a through pass from Miguel Almiron, Matias Galarza 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 Joshua Kimmich's consecutive shots failed to find the net just before the break, leveled the score nine minutes into the second half.
As Florian Wirtz sent a cross from the left side of the attacking zone, Kai Havertz, with his back to the goal in the center of the penalty area, connected with a skillful back-header to score the equalizer.
In the 33rd minute of the second half, Germany missed a chance to turn the game around when another threatening header by Havertz, following a cross from Wirtz, was saved by the goalkeeper.
German head coach Julian Nagelsmann made a tactical 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 tournament's first extra-time period.
Germany appeared to have taken the lead in the 12th minute of the first half of extra time with a header by Jonathan Tah following a corner kick.
However, after a video assistant referee (VAR) review, the referee determined that Waldemar Anton had interfered with the defense of Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill, and the goal was disallowed.
In the 14th minute of the second half of extra time, Germany's header by Anton from a corner kick went straight to the goalkeeper, and a subsequent right-footed free kick by Nadiem Amiri hit the side netting, forcing the match into a penalty shootout.
In the shootout, which began with Germany kicking first, Germany found themselves on the brink of elimination as the shots from their first kicker, Havertz, and their fourth kicker, Woltemade, were saved by Paraguayan goalkeeper Gill.
Paraguay scored in succession through Mauricio, Gustavo Gomez, and Galarza.
Afterwards, Antonio Sanabria's shot went wide and Fabian Balbuena's kick was saved by veteran German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, bringing the score to 3-3.
However, while the shot from Germany's sixth 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)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
Video News
Video News