Paraguay pulled off one of the World Cup’s biggest shocks, eliminating four-time champions Germany on penalties in a dramatic sudden-death shootout.
Germany, ranked 31 places above Paraguay by FIFA, saw their tournament hopes ended after a tense 4-3 penalty loss.
The match reached extra time when Kai Havertz nodded home to cancel out Julio Enciso’s surprise opener. Later, Jonathan Tah had what looked like a go-ahead header controversially ruled out following a VAR review.
The victory marks Paraguay’s first-ever World Cup knockout win. They now advance to face either France or Sweden in Philadelphia on July 4, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.
Ticket market, according to reports, swings reflected the upset: prices for the projected France v Germany clash briefly hit $1,356 before tumbling to about $877 once Paraguay’s triumph made France v Paraguay the likelier pairing, a reminder that Paraguay were no underdogs by the end of the night.
Unwanted history for Havertz
Kai Havertz became the first German to miss a World Cup penalty shootout kick since Uli Stielike’s miss in 1982, ending a streak of 15 consecutive German spot-kicks converted in World Cup shootouts.
The early line-up for the last 16 now features three teams from the Americas - Canada, Brazil and Paraguay - who knocked out South Africa, Japan and a heavyweight European side, Germany.
Paraguay join Croatia as the only nations to have taken part in more than one World Cup shootout without ever losing one.
Remarkable turnaround.
After Germany’s 7-1 opening-day rout of Curaçao and Paraguay’s 4-1 loss to the USA, few expected this outcome. Germany will rue the disallowed Tah header, and a lack of invention against Paraguay’s disciplined defence, while Paraguay earned the result with calm finishing from the spot.
Joint Men of the Match
Centre-backs Gustavo Gómez and José Canale share the award - defensive rockstars who deserved the plaudits.
¡Felicidades, Paraguay! Congratulations Paraguay!!
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