WC UPSET: Paraguay send Germany crashing out
by Kickoff Reporter · KickOffGermany suffered a shock exit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after losing to Paraguay via the penalty shoot-out on Monday evening in Boston.
Fixture: Germany v Paraguay
Score: 1-1
Goalscorers: Havertz (54')/ Encisco (42')
Having suffered group stage exits in the last two editions, Die Mannschaft came good once more and won their first two matches against Curacao and Ivory Coast to claim Group F and a spot in the knockout stage whilst Paraguay sneaked in as a third-best placed team in Group D following a slow start to their campaign.
It was not the easiest of starts for Die Mannschaft who were given a big scare in the second minute where Julio Enciso teed-up Junior Alonso for a shot from close-range following a cross, but tremendous piece of goalkeeping by Manuel Neuer kept him out.
Die Mannschaft were stunned four minutes towards halftime when a cross from a corner-kick by Matias Galarza entered the centre of the six-yard box and found the on-rushing Enciso who headed in the bottom-corner.
With the Germans were on the back-foot at halftime, manager Julian Nagelsmann looked to his substitutes’ bench and introduced former Bayern Munich star midfielder Leon Goretzka in the place of Felix Nmecha.
Second Half:
The four-time world champions were able to draw level ten minutes after the break when Florian Wirtz moved to the left of the box to deliver a floating cross in the area, where Kai Havertz was on hand to glance home his third goal of the competition.
Paraguay were keen to regain their advantage later on having pushed the Germans to the edge and saw a header by Gustavo Caballero from a smart ball in by Mauricio go inches wide of the mark with Neuer cautious.
Havertz closed-in on a double inside the closing quarter and charged onto another tellingly worked ball in from the left by Wirtz to go in on the head, but his effort was smartly gathered by the opposite number Orlando Gill.
The match remained tightly contested though the Germans grabbed the front-foot two minutes at the end of the first half of extra-time after Jonathan Tah latched onto a corner from Nathaniel Brown to head in, but it was reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and ruled out following a foul on Gill.
Germany got another chance in the final minutes before full-time through a header by Waldemar Anton, but Gill made a stop to send the match to a penalty shoot-out.
The shoot-out was very intense and went down the wire following misses either end, but Paraguay reigned supreme as a miss by Tah allowed Jose Canale to fire in the winner in sudden death to send the Germans home early.