Germany was staring at a Round of 32 exit against Paraguay. Down 1-0 at halftime. The World Cup co-host had no answers. Then Kai Havertz decided he wasn’t going home yet.
The Arsenal striker nodded home a Florian Wirtz cross in the 54th minute to level things at 1-1. It wasn’t pretty. It was necessary. ClutchPoints posted the clip of Havertz’s equalizer with the caption: “Kai Havertz converts on the equalizer for Germany.” That undersells the tension.
Late in stoppage time, Germany thought they’d won it. Jonathan Tah banged in a header, the bench erupted, and the German fans in the stadium lost their minds. But VAR had other plans. The goal was overturned, and the game pushed into extra time with the score stuck at 1-1. Brutal stuff for Tah. Great TV for everyone else.
The winner here heads to Philadelphia on Saturday, July 4th, to face either France (2022 World Cup runners-up) or Sweden. The other side of the bracket already includes co-host Canada, who beat South Africa in Sunday’s opener, and Brazil. The path is there. But so is France.
Germany’s Attack Can’t Coast on Names Alone
On paper, Germany has more firepower than most teams in this tournament. Havertz, Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Nick Woltemade, Denis Undav, Leroy Sane — that’s a lot of talent. But Paraguay’s defense gave them fits for large stretches of this match. The midfield was disconnected. Chances were half-chances. If not for Havertz’s timing on that cross, we might be talking about a monumental upset.
The defense has held up okay. Tah and Antonio Rudiger at center back are a solid shield. And Manuel Neuer at 40 still looks like he can steal a game when needed. But against a team like France, that’s not enough. The French attack with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele would test Germany’s backline in ways Paraguay couldn’t. And if Germany’s attack stays this disjointed, they could be on a plane home before the quarterfinals.
It’s not panic time yet. But the margin for error is gone. One more win gets them to Philly. Another win there puts them in the final eight with a trip to MetLife Stadium on the line. That’s the road. It just got a lot harder than anyone in the German camp expected.
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