Paraguay's midfielder (23) Matias Galarza celebrates after winning the penalty shootout of their World Cup round of 32 match against Germany at the Boston Stadium in Foxborough on Monday.CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images
José 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 World Cup so far.
The round of 32 match ended 1-1 after extra time. Paraguay took the lead when Julio Enciso scored on a header late in the first half, but Kai Havertz equalized in the 52nd minute for four-time champion Germany.
“We had to analyze every player, every detail. Thanks to that I was able to only miss two penalties,” Gill said afterward. “This is for all the people of Paraguay.”
Paraguay, ranked 34th by FIFA, is the deepest betting long shot to win a World Cup match and did it against 12th-ranked Germany.
The Paraguayans will next face the winner of Tuesday’s match between France and Sweden in the round of 16 on Saturday in Philadelphia. A win in that match would land them back in Foxborough for a quarter-final match on July 9.
“I think we deserved one more game and to be honest considering everything that was said, everything we went through,” Canale said. “What I want to highlight from our team is how united we are. … Today was a game we really needed to show our true colours.”
Germany had won six of seven penalty shootouts in major tournaments, including six straight since losing to Czechoslovakia in the 1976 European Championship final.
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 has its revenge.
“We had very big plans for this World Cup. It’s very difficult to disappoint again,” Havertz said. “It was difficult to create chances and keep the pace.”
Germany's Nick Woltemade (11) reacts after missing a shot in a shootout against Paraguay during their round of 32 match in Foxborough, Mass.Steven Senne/The Associated Press
Paraguay broke the early stalemate in the 42nd minute Monday with some perfect ball movement to set up Enciso.
Miguel Almirón split Germany’s Aleksandar Pavlović and Nathaniel Brown with a left-footed pass to Matías Galarza. Galarza sent a cross to Enciso, who was unmarked by Germany’s defenders and easily headed it past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
In the second half, Havertz took a cross from Florian Wirtz, which he got just enough head on to redirect it past Gill.
And then in extra time, Germany appeared to take a 2-1 lead in the 102nd minute when Jonathan Tah headed in a corner kick by Nathaniel Brown that was just above the reach of Gill. But a video review ruled that Waldemar Anton has pushed Gill to the ground before the shot and the goal was disallowed.