FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) 鈥� Jos茅 Canale wasn鈥檛 in the starting lineup in either of his previous two appearances for Paraguay in this World Cup.
He made his first start a memorable one.
Canale scored on the first sudden-death penalty kick, Orlando Gill made two key saves in the shootout, and Paraguay beat Germany 4-3 on penalties Monday to earn the biggest upset of the 2026 .
It was a major triumph for the landlocked South American country of 7 million people that’s surrounded by soccer giants like Argentina and Brazil. And it was the latest surprising exit by Germany, a four-time champion that has struggled at the World Cup since it last lifted the trophy in 2014.
鈥淚 think we deserved one more game and to be honest, considering everything that was said, everything we went through,鈥� Canale said. 鈥淲hat I want to highlight from our team is how united we are. … Today was a game we really needed to show our true colors.鈥�
Paraguayans celebrated in the streets of the capital, Asunci贸n, screaming, jumping and hugging when the match ended. Some cried and dropped to their knees in disbelief, with the familiar beat of the team鈥檚 song 鈥淪oy Albirrojo鈥� reverberating through the crowd.
Paraguay became the first team to defeat Germany in a penalty shootout at the World Cup. The Germans missed three of six penalty tries, the last by Jonathan Tah, in the first sudden-death round, setting up Canale for the winner. Tah’s miss followed of Fabian Balbuena’s attempt that would have won it for Paraguay.
Tah also thought he had the go-ahead goal in extra time. He headed in a corner kick by Nathaniel Brown in the 102nd minute, but officials concluded after a video review that Waldemar Anton has pushed Gill to the ground before the shot and the goal was disallowed.
The Round of 32 match ended 1-1 after extra time. Paraguay took the lead when Julio Enciso late in the first half, but Kai Havertz in the 52nd minute for Germany.
鈥淲e had to analyze every player, every detail. Thanks to that I was able to only miss two penalties,鈥� Gill said. 鈥淭his is for all the people of Paraguay.鈥�
Paraguay, which entered the match ranked 41st by FIFA, became the deepest betting long shot to win a match in this World Cup. Germany came in as the 10th-ranked team in the world.
The Paraguayans will face the winner of Tuesday鈥檚 match between France and Sweden in the Round of 16 on Saturday in Philadelphia. A win on the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding would send Paraguay back to Foxborough for the quarterfinals on July 9.
Germany had won six of seven penalty shootouts in major tournaments, including six straight since losing to Czechoslovakia in the 1976 European Championship final.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough for German football,鈥� coach Julian Nagelsmann said.
In the only previous World Cup match between the teams, Germany beat Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16 at the 2002 tournament. Nearly a quarter-century later, Paraguay got its revenge.
Paraguay had appeared in five previous knockout games but failed to score in each. It had advanced only once, winning on penalty kicks against Japan in the round of 16 at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. It fell that year to eventual champion Spain in the quarterfinals.
Monday was Germany鈥檚 first knockout game since the 2014 final in Brazil, when the Germans beat Argentina 1-0. The Germans were eliminated in the group stage at the last two tournaments.
鈥淲e had very big plans for this World Cup. It鈥檚 very difficult to disappoint again,鈥� Havertz said. 鈥淚t was difficult to create chances and keep the pace.鈥�
Paraguay broke the early stalemate in the 42nd minute Monday with some perfect ball movement to set up Enciso.
Miguel Almiron split Germany鈥檚 Aleksandar Pavlovic and Nathaniel Brown with a left-footed pass to Matias Galarza. Galarza sent a cross to Enciso, who was unmarked by Germany鈥檚 defenders and easily headed it past Neuer.
In the second half, Havertz took a cross from Florian Wirtz, which he got just enough head on to redirect it past Gill.
Germany, whose 10 goals in the group stage was tied for the most of any team, struggled to find a way through Paraguay鈥檚 4-5-1 setup. The Germans had 78% of the possession in the first half.
Paraguay was without defender Omar Alderete, who left with an injury in the second half of its 0-0 draw against Australia. Canale started in his place.
Paraguay opened the World Cup with a 4-1 loss to the United States, then beat Turkey 1-0 while playing the entire second half with 10 men. A scoreless draw against Australia was good enough for Paraguay to reach the knockout stage as the third-place finisher from Group D.
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