Paraguay stuns Germany on penalties to reach World Cup last 16

Orlando Gill stopped Kai Havertz’s opening penalty and Jose Canale buried the sudden-death winner as Paraguay beat Germany 4-3 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw at Boston Stadium. Gill was named player of the match after a night played in front of 63,945 spectators, with Jalal Jayed in charge.

Julio Enciso put Paraguay ahead in the 42nd minute, and Kai Havertz equalized for Germany in the 54th. The match stayed level through 120 minutes, even after Jonathan Tah had a header ruled out by VAR in extra time. When the game went to penalties, Gill stopped Havertz, and Antonio Sanabria and Tah missed from the spot. Manuel Neuer then denied Fabian Balbuena, leaving Canale to finish the job in sudden death.

The result sent Paraguay into the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup, the 23rd edition of the tournament and the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries. It was a breakthrough built on a longer rebuild under Gustavo Alfaro, who took over in August 2024 when Paraguay had only five points from 18 in qualifying. Alfaro had framed the team’s approach bluntly, saying Paraguay should be “a team nobody wants to face and that does not negotiate its attitude.”

Paraguay’s return carried extra weight because the country had not played at a World Cup since South Africa 2010, when it reached the quarterfinals, still its best performance at the tournament. Germany and Paraguay had met before at the 2002 World Cup in Seogwipo, where Germany won 1-0 on a late Oliver Neuville goal. Germany’s loss was its first World Cup penalty shootout defeat.