Jose Canale scored the winning penalty, leading the underdogs to a memorable victory and igniting wild celebrations. They will advance to face either title contenders France or Sweden in the knockout stage.
Germany saw Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade, and Jonathan Tah miss their penalty attempts, while Canale, after two misses from the South Americans, remained calm to clinch the win.
For Germany, which had a header from Tah ruled out in extra time, this defeat was bitter, marking their first penalty shootout loss in World Cup history.
”We should not blame the referee or the shootout today,” said Germany captain Joshua Kimmich. “If you can’t defeat Paraguay over 120 minutes, you deserve to be eliminated. You can’t rely on luck; you need the quality to clearly beat this opponent.”
This was the most significant win for the South Americans in the tournament, having reached the quarter-finals in 2010 and failing to qualify since, while Germany’s international standing is now severely tarnished after group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022.
”Describing this feeling is challenging,” said a jubilant Paraguay captain Gustavo Gomez. “I’m immensely proud of my teammates and this group. Today, we had to embody Paraguay more than ever.”
”Deep down, Germany knew they had to sweat blood to beat us because we were going to make their defeat extremely costly,” he added.
Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann, who at 38 became the youngest coach to lead a team in a World Cup knockout match in 40 years, will face immense pressure upon returning home after another World Cup setback.
”I am disappointed. It wasn’t enough to defeat this opponent,” said Nagelsmann, who had set the ambitious goal of securing a fifth World Cup for Germany. “The opponent scored once, and we didn’t defend well. We lost control of possession, tried many approaches, but should have scored earlier.”
”If you are eliminated by Paraguay, you are simply not a top-tier football team. I am very disappointed.”
OFFENSIVE APPROACH
Nagelsmann chose an attacking formation, allowing his team’s leading scorer in the tournament, Deniz Undav, to make his first start. The forward, who contributed three goals and two assists in the group stage, created an early threat with a curling shot while Germany controlled possession.
Paraguay, largely without the ball, was content to absorb the pressure as Germany explored every possible path to their goal but managed no shots on target during the first half.
Executing their game plan flawlessly, the South Americans, with Miguel Almiron back from suspension, stunned the favorites with a swift move down the right, leading to Enciso’s powerful header—marking Paraguay’s first-ever goal in a World Cup knockout stage.
The small number of Paraguay supporters, vastly outnumbered by the white-clad German fans, erupted with joy, drumming enthusiastically as silence enveloped large sections of the stands.
Frustration was palpable among the German players; despite a record-breaking 253 more passes than their opponents in a World Cup first half, they were trailing at halftime.
Germany responded nine minutes into the second half with Florian Wirtz delivering a cross that allowed Havertz to equalize with a glancing header. In the 102nd minute, they thought they had secured a winner when Tah headed in a corner, but after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was disallowed for a foul on the goalkeeper.
