Paraguay pulled off the biggest upset of the 2026 World Cup by eliminating Germany in the Round of 32 following a dramatic penalty shootout.
The match ended 1-1 after both regular and extra time, forcing a penalty shootout that saw the South American side secure a historic victory.
Julio Enciso had opened the scoring for Paraguay in the 41st minute, but Germany managed to bounce back through a Kai Havertz header in the 55th minute. Following the equalizer, German onslaughts continued while Paraguay relied entirely on deep defending and quick counter-attacks.
With the scores level at 1-1 after 90 minutes, the game headed into extra time. During this period, Jonathan Tah thought he had scored the winner for Germany, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR review due to a foul on the Paraguayan goalkeeper.
Ultimately, the tie was decided by penalties. Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade missed their spot-kicks for Germany, before Manuel Neuer restored hope by saving Paraguay’s final two penalties to force sudden death. However, in a dramatic twist, Tah missed Germany’s sixth penalty, and Canale converted his for Paraguay, sealing a 4-3 shootout defeat and an early exit for Die Mannschaft.
Remarkably, Germany has failed to win a single World Cup knockout match since defeating Argentina in the 2014 final. This marks the third time Germany has been knocked out before the Round of 16, though the previous two instances occurred in the group stage.
Paraguay now advances to the Round of 16, where they will face the winner of the France vs. Sweden clash.
