Germany v Paraguay - FIFA World Cup round of 32 clash
Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Jose Canale scored on the first sudden death penalty kick, Orlando Gill made two key saves in the shootout as Paraguay upset Germany 4-3 on penalties to earn the biggest upset of the 2026 World Cup so far.
The round of 32 match ended 1-1 after extra time. Paraguay had gone in front when Julio Enciso scored a header late in the first half. Kai Havertz equalised in the 52nd minute for four-time champions Germany.
“We had to analyse every player, every detail. Thanks to that I was able to only miss two penalties,” Gill said afterwards. “This is for all the people of Paraguay.”
Paraguay, ranked 34th in the world by FIFA, are the deepest betting long shot to win a World Cup match and did it against 12th-ranked Germany.
The Paraguayans will next face the winner of Tuesday’s (Wednesday NZT) match between France and Sweden in the round of 32 in Philadelphia.
A win in that match would land them back in Foxborough for a quarterfinal on July 9.
“I think we deserved one more game and to be honest considering everything that was said, everything we went through,” Canale said.
“What I wan to highlight from our team is how united we are. … Today was a game we really needed to show our true colours.”
Germany had won six of seven penalty shootouts in major tournaments, including six straight since losing to Czechoslovakia in the 1976 European Championship final.
In the only previous World Cup match between the teams, Germany beat Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16 at the 2002 edition. Nearly a quarter-century later, Paraguay got their revenge.
Paraguay had appeared in five previous knockout games but failed to score in each. The South Americans advanced only once in those previous occasions, winning on penalties against Japan in the round of 16 at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. They fell that year to eventual champions Spain in the quarterfinals.
Monday (Tuesday NZT) was Germany’s first knockout game since the 2014 final in Brazil when the Germans beat Argentina 1-0 to capture their fourth World Cup title. The Germans were eliminated from the group stage at the last two World Cup tournaments.
“We had very big plans for this World Cup. It’s very difficult to disappoint again,” Havertz said. “It was difficult to create chances and keep the pace.”
Paraguay broke the early stalemate in the 42nd minute with some perfect ball movement to setup Enciso.
Miguel Almiron split Germany’s Aleksandar Pavlovic and Nathaniel Brown with a left-footed pass to Matias Galarza. Galarza sent a cross to Enciso, who was unmarked by Germany’s defenders and easily headed it past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
In the second half, Havertz took a cross from Florian Wirtz, which he got just enough head on to redirect it past Gill.
And then in extra time, Germany appeared to take a 2-1 lead in the 102nd minute when Jonathan Tah headed in a corner kick by Nathaniel Brown that was just above the reach of Gill. But a VAR review ruled that Waldemar Anton has pushed Gill to the ground before Tah’s header and the goal was disallowed.
Germany, whose 10 goals in the group stage was tied for the most of any team, struggled to find a way through Paraguay’s 4-5-1 set-up. The Germans had 78% of the possession in the first half.
As expected, Paraguay were without defender Omar Alderete, who left with an injury in the second half of the team’s 0-0 draw against Australia. Canale started in his place.