Germany vs Paraguay

About this fixture

The teams had met twice—once in the round of 16 at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, in which Germany defeated Paraguay 1–0, and a 2013 friendly match which ended 3–3.

At 42 minutes, Paraguay earned a corner in the German half. Although goalkeeper Manuel Neuer managed to punch the ball out of the box, Germany failed to maintain possession. A series of passes sent the ball into the path of Paraguay midfielder Julio Enciso, who headed the ball past Neuer. This opened up the scoring, and charted Paraguay's first ever goal in the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup.

Eight minutes into the second half, German midfielder Florian Wirtz sent a cross into the Paraguay box which found the head of his teammate Kai Havertz, who flicked it into goal for an equalizer.

During extra time, a German corner kick saw defender Jonathan Tah head the ball into the Paraguayan net. However, the goal was disallowed as VAR review found that goalkeeper Orlando Gill had been fouled in his box, and was unable to challenge the ball fairly. In the ensuing penalty shootout, the teams were tied at the end of five shots, and the match went into sudden death. Tah sent the ball over the net, granting centre-back José Canale the chance to score and ending the shootout 4–3 in Paraguay's favor.

With this victory, Paraguay advanced to the round of 16, eliminating Germany. They will face France or Sweden in their next match. This also marks the first time Germany were ever defeated in a penalty shootout in the World Cup.