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Germany are out. Eliminated from the FIFA World Cup 2026™ at the Round of 32 by Paraguay, beaten 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw that stretched through ninety minutes and extra time. At the Boston Stadium, one of world football’s great powers was brought down by an opponent that simply refused to be where the script said they should be. José Canale converted the sudden-death penalty that ended it. Germany could not believe what had happened. Nagelsmann’s troubled tournament is over.
Dominance Without Danger
Germany controlled the first half completely. Seventy-nine per0020cent possession. Ball retention that would make any coach proud. And zero real chances. Paraguay dropped into a deep, narrow defensive block and invited Germany to find the gaps — which Germany, for forty-odd minutes, could not. The patterns were neat. The end product was absent.
Florian Wirtz, Germany’s most creative force, found pockets of space but could not consistently turn them into clear chances. His one genuine attempt, struck quickly after a cleared corner, sailed over the bar. Kimmich probed from deep. The forwards drifted into positions that looked dangerous on the replay but were never quite dangerous in the moment. Germany’s possession counts looked magnificent. Paraguay did not care. They had set up precisely to absorb exactly this.
Enciso — Again
The 42nd minute. A clever fake turn from Miguel Almirón created the opening, sending Matías Galarza into the box. Galarza delivered a precise cross and Julio Enciso, arriving on cue, hammered a header past Manuel Neuer. 1-0 Paraguay. For the second game running, Germany had conceded from a set-piece sequence they should have defended better. For the second time at this FIFA World Cup 2026™, Enciso had scored. Paraguay had just registered their first-ever World Cup knockout-stage goal, and they had done it against Germany. No one in the Boston Stadium had expected this. Enciso had not stopped to wonder whether he was supposed to.
Havertz Levels, Tah’s Ghost Goal, Chaos in Extra Time
Germany’s response was immediate. Wirtz floated a cross into the box nine minutes into the second half, and Kai Havertz redirected it sharply into the bottom right corner. 1-1. Germany pushed hard for a winner — the pressure was relentless, the tempo high — but Paraguay’s defensive shape, which had held firm all first half, held firm again.
Extra time produced the moment that will be replayed and debated for years. Jonathan Tah headed Germany into the lead in the 101st minute — only for VAR to step in. After a lengthy review, the referee disallowed it: Waldemar Anton had briefly impeded Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill. Germany’s players swarmed the official. Nagelsmann threw his arms up on the touchline. The decision stood, and the anguish of it lingered over the final twenty minutes. Late yellow cards for Musiala and Galarza reflected the frustration boiling over on both sides as penalties approached. One hundred and twenty minutes played. Still 1-1.
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The Shootout: 4-3
Havertz went first for Germany — and missed, his effort saved centrally by Gill. Maurício converted for Paraguay. Kimmich and Gustavo Gómez both scored. Musiala and Galarza both scored. Woltemade and Sanabria both missed, keeping the tie alive. Amiri held his nerve to score. Balbuena missed for Paraguay. After five rounds: 3-3, and sudden death.
Tah — whose disallowed header had been the defining injustice of extra time, and whose name will be remembered alongside this defeat for a long time — stepped up first in sudden death and missed again. At the other end, José Canale struck his penalty cleanly past Neuer. Paraguay 4-3 Germany. The Boston Stadium rose as one.
Germany are eliminated. Their questions remain unanswered. Paraguay advance to the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ — a place no Paraguayan side has ever reached before.
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