Paraguay stun four-time champions Germany in penalty shootout to end World Cup run

Paraguay eliminated Germany from the 2026 World Cup in the last 32, winning a penalty shootout after a goalless draw that extended to extra time. Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah all failed to convert for Germany, before Jose Canale held his nerve to seal a famous South American victory despite two earlier misses by his teammates.

The result means Germany have now failed to reach the last 16 in three consecutive World Cups, and have not won a knockout match since lifting the trophy in Rio de Janeiro in 2014.

Julian Nagelsmann, who at 38 became the youngest coach to take charge of a World Cup knockout game in 40 years, named top scorer Deniz Undav in his starting line-up for the first time in the tournament. Germany’s best chance of settling the tie came in the 102nd minute when defender Jonathan Tah headed in a corner at the far post, only for a lengthy VAR review to disallow the goal for a foul on the goalkeeper.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, working as a pundit for German television, drew a pointed comparison over the disallowed goal. “If the goal is illegal, then Arsenal won’t be English champions,” Klopp told MagentaTV. “They’ve scored 60 per cent of their goals that way. We win the game when the ball goes in. So, of course, this is brutal.”

The German press was unsparing in its verdict. Bild described a “disastrous performance” from a team that was “slow, boring, lethargic” and declared it “another German football nightmare.” Die Zeit accused the side of beating themselves through a “lack of imagination” and suggested the result reflected a broader decline in German football beyond Bayern Munich. Süddeutsche Zeitung went further, calling the exit more “embarrassing” than the group-stage elimination at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, arguing that on that occasion Germany were unlucky — a defence unavailable this time.

Reaction from beyond Germany was equally stark. French outlet L’Equipe labelled it the “biggest shock of the World Cup so far,” Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport praised Paraguay for fighting “with great heart and determination for every ball,” and Spain’s Marca was blunt: “There’s nothing left of Germany. Not even in the penalty shootout.”