Germany's historic penalty shootout loss
Germany suffered their first-ever FIFA World Cup elimination in a penalty shootout, having won each of their previous four shootouts at the tournament. It was also only their second defeat on penalties at a major international tournament, the first coming against Czechoslovakia in the 1976 UEFA European Championship final (5-3), as per OptaJoe.
One of the biggest upsets in modern World Cup history
The result ranks among the biggest knockout upsets in modern World Cup history. Germany entered the tournament ranked 10th in the FIFA World Rankings, while Paraguay were 41st, a gap of 31 places. Since 1994, only three World Cup knockout eliminations have featured a larger rankings disparity: Spain's defeat to Russia in 2018 (60 places), Italy's loss to South Korea in 2002 (34 places), and Spain's quarter-final exit to South Korea in 2002 (32 places).
Match summary: dramatic extra time and VAR controversy
After a gruelling 120 minutes that ended 1-1, Germany buckled in the penalty shootout, missing three crucial spot-kicks as Paraguay held their nerve to seal a famous victory and advance dramatically. Germany thought they had found a winner in extra time through Jonathan Tah, but the goal was ruled out following a VAR review for a foul in the build-up, forcing the contest into a penalty shootout. The South Americans held their nerve to win 4-3 from the spot after standard and extra time finished deadlocked at 1-1.
