Paraguay produced one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 FIFA World Cup by defeating Germany 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in their Round of 32 encounter.
The dramatic contest ended Germany’s campaign and marked a historic moment, as it was the first time the four-time world champions had ever lost a penalty shootout in FIFA World Cup history.
Paraguay took the lead in the 42nd minute through Julio Enciso, who finished calmly after receiving a fine pass from Matias Galarza to put the South Americans ahead before halftime.
Germany returned from the break with renewed determination and found the equaliser in the 54th minute.
Kai Havertz converted from close range after being set up by Florian Wirtz, bringing the Europeans back into the contest.
Both teams continued to push for a winner, but neither side could find the decisive goal in regulation time, forcing the match into a penalty shootout.
Jose Canale hit the decisive penalty to give the underdogs a memorable victory and spark wild celebrations, as they advanced to the next round where they will face either title contenders France or Sweden in the last 16.
The Germans saw Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah fail to score from the spot before Canale, after two misses by the South Americans, kept his composure to seal their win.
For the Germans, who had a Tah header disallowed in extra time, it was a bitter defeat and the first time they lost a penalty shootout at a World Cup.
“We should not be blaming the referee or the penalty shootout today,” Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said. “If you cannot beat Paraguay over 120 minutes then you are deservedly eliminated. You should not depend on the opponents’ luck or no luck. You should have the quality in the squad to clearly beat this opponent.”
It was the biggest win at the tournament for the South Americans, who reached the quarter-finals in 2010 and had not qualified since, while Germany’s international reputation is now in tatters after consecutive World Cup group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022.
“I think the feeling we have is difficult to explain,” a beaming Paraguay captain Gustavo Gomez said. “I’m very proud of my teammates and of this group. Today was a match in which we had to be Paraguay more than ever.”
“I think deep down Germany knew that if they wanted to beat us, they would have to sweat blood, because we were going to make defeat very, very expensive for them,” he said.
For Germany, the defeat will be particularly painful as they surrendered a strong comeback and suffered their first-ever World Cup penalty shootout loss, ending their hopes of another title challenge.
