Paraguay eliminated Germany following a thrilling penalty shootout, markin Germany’s first World Cup exit to a South American side since Ronaldo’s Brazil in 2002. Paraguay has written a historic new chapter in World Cup lore, stunning Germany in a dramatic penalty shootout to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. The result is equally monumental for the European giants, who suffered their first knockout-stage exit at the hands of a South American opponent since facing Ronaldo Nazário’s legendary Brazil squad 24 years ago.
Julio Enciso opened the scoring for Paraguay in the 43rd minute, filtering into the box to bury a sharp header off a well-placed cross from Matías Galarza. While Kai Havertz later answered with a header of his own to equalize for Germany, Die Mannschaft couldn’t find a regulation winner, ultimately falling in the ensuing shootout to seal their elimination.
The loss goes down as one of Germany’s most bitter World Cup disappointments, marking their first elimination by a South American nation in over two decades. The last time the Germans were sent packing by a CONMEBOL team was the 2002 World Cup final in Yokohama, where Ronaldo Nazario scooped up the Golden Boot by scoring both goals in Brazil’s 2-0 triumph.
Since that 2002 final, Germany’s tournament exits had all come from European foes, falling in the semifinals to Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010 before lifting the trophy against Argentina in 2014. While Die Mannschaft did endure humiliating, early first-round departures in both 2018 and 2022, those failures notoriously occurred during the group stage rather than the win-or-go-home knockout rounds.
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