🇵🇾 Paraguay's World Cup story.

The story · Round of 16

Paraguay suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to the United States, then recovered by beating Türkiye 1-0 and drawing 0-0 with Australia. Four points earned it a place among the best third-placed teams. In the round of 32, it produced one of the tournament’s biggest shocks: a 1-1 draw with Germany after extra time, followed by a 4-3 shootout victory. Goalkeeper Orlando Gill saved the attempts of Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade; Jonathan Tah also missed before José Canale converted the decisive kick. It was Germany’s first World Cup shootout defeat. In the round of 16, Paraguay resisted France in intense Philadelphia heat. A VAR intervention led to a penalty after Diego Gómez fouled Désiré Doué; Kylian Mbappé converted in the 70th minute. Gill made two more late saves, but Paraguay lost 1-0. The campaign showed a spectacular progression after the opening match and included the elimination of a four-time world champion.

From the tournament notebook

The defeat was Germany’s first ever in a World Cup penalty shootout.

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Reporting through 2026-07-15