Paraguay stunned four-time world champions Germany 4-3 on penalties on Monday to advance to the World Cup round of 16 in one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history, after the teams were tied 1-1 over 120 minutes.
Jose Canale scored the decisive penalty to give the underdogs a famous victory and trigger wild celebrations. They move on to the next round, where they will face either France or Sweden in the round of 16.
Germany’s Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah all missed their penalties, while Canale stayed calm after two missed penalties from the South Americans to secure the win.
For Germany, who also had a Tah header ruled out in extra time, it was a painful defeat and their first World Cup penalty shootout loss.
PARAGUAY TAKES DOWN GERMANY ON PENALTIES TO ADVANCE IN THE #FIFAWORLDCUP 🇵🇾 pic.twitter.com/gtLzMuKu5Y
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 29, 2026
Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said, “We should not be blaming the referee or the penalty shootout today. If you cannot beat Paraguay over 120 minutes, then you deserve to be eliminated. You should not rely on luck from the opponent. You need enough quality in your squad to clearly beat this team.”
It was the biggest win of the tournament for the South Americans, who reached the quarterfinals in 2010 and had not qualified since. Germany’s reputation is now damaged after back-to-back World Cup group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022.
Paraguay captain Gustavo Gómez said, “The feeling is hard to describe. I am very proud of my teammates and this group. Today we had to be Paraguay at its best.”
THE FOUR-TIME WORLD CUP WINNERS, GERMANY, ARE ELIMINATED IN THE ROUND OF 32 BY PARAGUAY ON PENALTIES.
The first upset of the knockout stage 🤯 pic.twitter.com/axPr7fNdEN
— ESPN (@espn) June 29, 2026
He added that Germany knew they would have to work very hard to beat them and that Paraguay would make the defeat very costly.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, the youngest coach in a World Cup knockout stage in 40 years at age 38, will face heavy pressure after another World Cup failure.
He said he was disappointed and that it was not enough to beat Paraguay. He said the team did not defend well, lost control of possession and should have scored earlier. He added that being eliminated by Paraguay means Germany is not a top-level team.
