Paraguay detonated one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 World Cup finals, eliminating European football giant and record-breaking attacking side Germany in the round of 32, defeating them 4-3 on penalties in a thrilling encounter at Gillette Stadium in Boston that ended 1-1 after regular and extra time. Paraguay now have a highly anticipated last-16 meeting with the winner of the Sweden–France clash.
This match was the first of the current World Cup edition to go to extra time, following a tactically resilient display from both sides. It also featured a historic moment for Paraguay, who scored their first-ever goal in a World Cup knockout round — eliminating the German machine despite Germany topping the scoring charts at the 2026 World Cup with 11 goals, ahead of the Netherlands and France, both on 10.
Despite the bitter farewell, German striker Kai Havertz etched his name into the record books by becoming the first German player to score 5 goals in his first 6 World Cup matches since the legendary Thomas Müller achieved the same feat at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The match also deepened Germany's defensive complex, as they continued their failure to keep a clean sheet across 7 consecutive matches spanning three World Cup editions. Their last clean sheet dates back to the final of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when they were crowned champions with a 1-0 win over Argentina — after which Germany's net entered a dark tunnel that included early first-round exits at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The defensive failures repeated themselves again in Boston, bringing Germany's ambitions of reclaiming the world title to a premature end.