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 Nazario’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 Matias 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 World Cup 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.
Ronaldo of Brazil celebrates after scoring against Germany.
In fact, Germany’s modern knockout record against South American opposition had been nearly flawless prior to Monday’s collapse. Before that 2002 defeat to Brazil, their last knockout-stage loss to a CONMEBOL nation also occurred on the grandest stage, the 1986 World Cup final, when they fell to Diego Maradona’s iconic Argentina squad.
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South American teams prove to be Germany’s Kryptonite in 2026
Despite the lack of high-quality chances Paraguay generated throughout the match, Germany simply could not dismantle the defensive wall the South American side constructed. For a European powerhouse that spent years dominating the international landscape, CONMEBOL opponents have officially become a massive headache for Die Mannschaft this summer.
After opening the tournament with a 7-1 thrashing of Curacao and a 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast, Germany ran into a buzzsaw against Ecuador, dropping a 2-1 decision that marked their first-ever group-stage loss to a South American team. Now, by crashing out against Paraguay, the Germans have also seen a legendary streak snapped: since the modern Round of 16 format was introduced in 1986, Germany had never lost its opening match of the knockout stage.
