Paraguay stun Germany in penalty shootout to reach round of 16
Paraguay secured a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Germany in their round of 32 match at the FIFA World Cup 2026, advancing to the round of 16 for the first time since 2010. Head coach Gustavo Alfaro hailed his players as 'legends' after the match, which ended 1-1 after extra time before Paraguay prevailed 4-3 on penalties.
Germany's post-2014 World Cup struggles continued as they crashed out in the round of 32, having been eliminated in the group stage in the previous two editions. According to OptaJoe, this was Germany's first-ever World Cup elimination in a penalty shootout, having won all four previous shootouts at the tournament. It was only their second defeat on penalties at a major international tournament, the first coming against Czechoslovakia in the 1976 UEFA European Championship final.
Alfaro: '26 warriors went out there and came back as legends'
Speaking after the match, as quoted by Reuters, Alfaro said: 'We never believe that we are beaten. Twenty-six warriors went out there, and they came back as legends.' The Argentine coach faced scrutiny after Paraguay opened their campaign with a 4-1 thrashing by co-hosts the United States. Paraguay managed only one goal in their other two group matches, squeezing into the round of 32 with one win, one loss, and one draw, accumulating four points to finish as one of the best third-placed teams.
Alfaro emphasized that the team would not have been prepared for this match without learning from the setback against the US. 'If we had not learned from the loss, we would not have been prepared for this match. I told the players that we have lived through an epic evening,' he added.
Match details: Enciso opens scoring, Havertz equalizes
Paraguay opened the scoring in the 42nd minute through Julio Enciso, who found the back of the net with a clinical finish. Germany responded in the 54th minute when Kai Havertz leveled the scores. The South Americans survived a controversially disallowed goal after a VAR review and took the match to penalties, where Jose Canale converted the decisive spot-kick.
Alfaro praised Canale, saying: 'Canale is one of life's champions because he has had to go through a lot of adversity. A night like this is one of the gifts that life can give you. It is divine justice.'
Paraguay now face France or Sweden in round of 16
Paraguay will face either France or Sweden on July 4 in their round of 16 match. The team has a chance to match its best-ever World Cup finish, reaching the quarterfinals as they did in 2010. Alfaro's side will look to continue their unlikely run after a rocky start to the tournament.
