Germany and Paraguay finished 1-1 in the World Cup Round of 32 on Monday, and Paraguay won 4-3 on penalties to reach the last 16. Jonathan Tah skied the deciding kick over the bar.
Germany and Paraguay finished 1-1 in the World Cup Round of 32 on Monday, and Paraguay won 4-3 on penalties to reach the last 16. Jonathan Tah skied the deciding kick over the bar.
Germany's aura finally cracked from the penalty spot. The four-time champions had never lost a penalty shootout at a World Cup, until now at Boston Stadium, where Paraguay held their nerve to win 4-3 after a 1-1 draw and dump the Germans out in the round of 32. Jonathan Tah, denied a winner by VAR in extra time, then blazed the decisive kick over the bar.
Julio Enciso gave Paraguay a deserved lead in the 42nd minute, climbing to head in Matías Galarza's cross. Germany, flat and slow in their build-up, did not draw level until nine minutes after the break, when Kai Havertz glanced home Florian Wirtz's delivery. From there the game tightened, and German frustration grew.
They thought they had won it in extra time. Tah rose to meet a corner and headed in, only for the referee to rule it out for a foul after a VAR review.
For Tah it was a cruel night twice over. After the disallowed goal, he was the one who missed the decisive penalty and sent his team home.
The shootout went to a sixth round. Gill saved from Havertz and Nick Woltemade to hand Paraguay control. The Albirroja then missed their opening two attempts, and Manuel Neuer denied Fabian Balbuena to drag Germany back into a sixth round. That reprieve counted for nothing once Tah lifted his kick over the crossbar.
This is not the Germany of old. The four-time winners have not won a World Cup knockout match since they lifted the trophy in 2014, and this exit follows group-stage flops in 2018 and 2022.
Julian Nagelsmann did not dodge it. "There's a real sense of dejection in the dressing room," he said. "We took too long to make our opponent chase the game. Our build-up play was too slow." He hinted at a reckoning to come: "Probably we need to do a big change. We need some solutions for the future."
Paraguay reach the last 16 for the first time since 2010, having recovered from a 4-1 opening defeat to the United States to progress as one of the best third-placed teams. Coach Gustavo Alfaro had framed the tie as an opportunity to seize.
"They are candidates to win the World Cup, but we will give everything on the pitch and this is a very good, very nice challenge," Alfaro said before kick-off. He had told his squad to value the run: "I've learned that only the chosen ones go to the World Cup, only a handful of people, and if you take advantage of the experience that a World Cup can give you, this improves your life."
Paraguay advance to the Round of 16, where they will meet France should Les Bleus beat Sweden.
