Paraguay Stun Four-Time Champions Germany in Penalties to Pull Off the World Cup's Greatest Upset

Germany came to Boston Stadium as one of the tournament's most dangerous teams. They left without a single win in knockout football since 2014.

This was not supposed to happen. Germany had been grouped alongside Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador in Group E — a draw that seemed tailor-made for a deep run — and despite a late 2-1 loss to Ecuador once qualification was confirmed, Julian Nagelsmann's side arrived in the knockout stage as -300 favorites against a Paraguayan team that had scraped through Group D third, winning just one match, 1-0 against Türkiye. The numbers, the history, and every metric pointed to a comfortable German progression.

Paraguay's head coach Gustavo Alfaro had other ideas.

From the opening whistle, Alfaro deployed a suffocating 4-4-2 low block, positioning 11 players behind the ball at virtually every moment, with central midfielders Andrés Cubas and Damián Bobadilla assigned to shadow-mark Germany's narrow attackers and deny any space between the lines. Germany dominated possession — holding 72% in the first half — but found the Paraguayan defense impenetrable in tight spaces, generating almost nothing of real danger in the final third across the opening 40 minutes.

Then came the sucker punch that no one saw coming. In the 42nd minute, Atlanta United's Matías Galarza — arguably Paraguay's best player across the entire group stage — delivered a precise delivery from a second-phase corner into the box. Julio Enciso, timing his run perfectly, arrived unmarked at the back post and powered a header past Manuel Neuer for 1-0. It was Paraguay's first-ever goal in a World Cup knockout match, and it was delivered with the composure of a side that had been planning this exact moment.

Germany found their equalizer eight minutes into the second half through the only avenue available to them — set pieces. Florian Wirtz swung in a deep cross from the left, and Kai Havertz drifted across his marker to flick a deft header into the far corner for 1-1 in the 53rd minute. From that point forward, Germany pushed relentlessly for a winner. The pressure was enormous: 21 total shots to Paraguay's 7, a 6-3 advantage in shots on target, 16 corner kicks — a barrage that Paraguay's defense met almost entirely with blocks (eight in total) and heroics from goalkeeper Orlando Gill.

Gill's performance deserves its own paragraph. The 26-year-old, who has never played for a club outside of Paraguay and arrived in Boston with just nine international caps to his name, made six saves of escalating quality across 90 minutes and extra time. He denied Kai Havertz's looping header. He snatched crosses in a crowded box that most goalkeepers would have flapped at. He saved Waldemar Anton's downward header on the goal line in the 110th minute — a moment that, had it gone in, would have ended the match. In doing so, he made himself the single reason Germany couldn't put this game to bed when their dominance was at its peak.

Extra time brought the night's most controversial moment. In the 102nd minute, Nathaniel Brown swung a corner to the back post, and Jonathan Tah rose above the defense to power a header in — Germany erupted. The celebration lasted until VAR intervened: after a review, referee Slavko Vinčić determined that Waldemar Anton had impeded Gill's route to the ball, overturning the goal and keeping the score at 1-1. The decision was marginal, the kind of contact that goes uncalled in perhaps 70% of similar situations at this tournament, and the German bench's fury was unmistakable. It would define the match.

The shootout that followed was one of the most dramatic in World Cup history. Kai Havertz — Germany's most reliable player across 90 minutes — missed the very first kick. Paraguay's Galarza stepped up with ice in his veins, feinting Neuer to the wrong side before rolling it into the opposite corner. Musiala pulled Germany level at 2-2. Sanabria missed for Paraguay. Neuer saved Balbuena's kick to keep Germany alive. Then Tah — the man who thought he'd won it in extra time — skied his penalty over the bar. José Canale converted calmly, and it was over. Paraguay 4-3 Germany.

The numbers around Germany's exit are staggering. It's the first time they've ever lost a penalty shootout at a World Cup. Since lifting the trophy in Brazil in 2014, Germany have now been eliminated in the group stage (2018), the group stage (2022), and the Round of 32 (2026) — three consecutive tournaments without reaching the quarterfinals, a run of failure unprecedented in their history. Nagelsmann's position as manager will now be heavily scrutinized.

Paraguay, meanwhile, advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2010, where they'll face the winner of France vs. Sweden on July 4 in Philadelphia. Alfaro called it "the greatest night in Paraguayan football history." Based on what unfolded at Boston Stadium, it's hard to argue with him.

What's next: Paraguay face France or Sweden on July 4 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Germany head home.