Germany stunned by Paraguay in World Cup shootout
SkimNews Take
A 1-1 draw suggests Germany weren't outplayed so much as outdrawn — penalties and a VAR reprieve flatten the talent gap, meaning "powerhouse eliminated" framing conflates a closely contested match with a collapse.
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Germany were eliminated from the World Cup in the round of 32 by Paraguay on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Foxborough, Massachusetts, with Havertz, Woltemade, and Tah all missing from the spot.
- Jonathan Tah saw a would-be extra-time winner disallowed by VAR after officials ruled Waldemar Anton had fouled goalkeeper Orlando Gill, who also saved Havertz's header and denied Anton point-blank in the 119th minute.
- José Canale converted the sudden-death penalty to send Paraguay through, after Julio Enciso's 42nd-minute header was canceled out by Kai Havertz's 54th-minute response; Germany held 78% first-half possession but couldn't break through again.
- Germany had never previously lost a World Cup penalty shootout, going 6-0 historically, and Monday marked their first knockout game since winning the 2014 title in Brazil — they had also been knocked out in the group stage at each of the last two World Cups.
- Paraguay had failed to score in all five prior knockout-round appearances at the World Cup and had advanced only once before — on penalties against Japan in 2010 — before Canale's winner sealed their revenge for a 2002 round-of-16 loss to Germany.
- Paraguay advances to face the winner of Tuesday's France vs. Sweden match on Saturday in the round of 16 in Philadelphia.
Why it matters: Germany's first-ever World Cup shootout loss extends a stunning decline: champions in 2014, group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022, and now a round-of-32 elimination to a 34th-ranked opponent. For Paraguay, the win ends a 15-year knockout-stage scoring drought and puts them one match from the quarterfinals at a tournament where they were given little chance.
