Havertz says Germany lacks cutting edge after Paraguay draw

Kai Havertz’s equalizer was not enough to save Germany from another knockout-stage collapse, with Paraguay winning 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Boston. Germany had 75 percent possession, 1.49 expected goals and 21 shots, yet only six efforts hit the target and the match still ended with Havertz confronting the same problem he described after the game: control without a decisive edge.

The numbers framed the frustration. Julio Enciso put Paraguay ahead in the 42nd minute, Havertz leveled in the 54th, and Germany spent long stretches on the front foot without finding a second goal. Paraguay finished with just seven shots, three on target and 0.42 expected goals, enough efficiency to ride out Germany’s pressure and force a shootout that turned on penalty saves from Orlando Gill.

That lack of a ruthless finish has shadowed Germany’s World Cup buildup for months. Havertz returned to the national team after almost 500 days away and was one of Germany’s most noticeable players in the 4-3 win over Switzerland on March 27, when Julian Nagelsmann’s side came from behind twice but also conceded three goals because of defensive mistakes. Three days later, Havertz scored from the penalty spot in a 2-1 win over Ghana, but Deniz Undav had to decide that match late as well.

Nagelsmann has tried to balance experience and youth, and the 26-man squad announced on May 22 included Havertz and Manuel Neuer for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Boston suggested that the issue is not a shortage of talent but an old German weakness: the ability to turn territorial control, passing volume and attacking possession into the one goal that survives the knockout tension.