For a program that once owned the World Cup, Germany sure has made a habit of leaving early. The four-time champions are headed home after the round of 32 for the second straight tournament, and this time it was Paraguay — yes, Paraguay — that sent them packing in a penalty shootout that had everything except a clean German finish from the spot.
It wasn’t supposed to go like this. Germany had never lost a World Cup shootout before Monday night in Foxborough. But now they’ve lost one, and the way it happened is going to sting for a while.
Paraguay took a 1-0 lead just before halftime when Julio Enciso finished off a slick move. Kai Havertz equalized early in the second half with a deft header, and it felt like Germany would take over from there. They didn’t. Julian Nagelsmann’s attack went flat, and neither normal time nor extra time produced the go-ahead goal.
There was a moment in extra time when Jonathan Tah thought he’d scored, but VAR caught Waldemar Anton shoving Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill on the corner. The referee actually called it — which, as anyone who watched Premier League corners this season can tell you, is practically a novelty at this point.
So it went to penalties. And Germany, historically unshakable from the spot, completely fell apart. Havertz tried a stutter-step and watched Gill save it easily. Then Nick Woltemade — the Newcastle striker — walked up casually and rolled a tame shot that Gill read without breaking a sweat. Suddenly Paraguay had the door wide open.
But then Antonio Sanabria sent his kick wide with a chance to seal it. Fabian Balbuena could have won it on the final regulation kick, but Manuel Neuer saved. Momentum swung back to Germany. And then Jonathan Tah — the same guy who had a goal wiped out earlier — skied his penalty over the bar. Jose Canale stepped up, sent Neuer the wrong way, and buried his shot into the roof of the net. Paraguay is moving on.
The scenes after were pure chaos. Paraguay’s players were losing their minds. Germany’s players looked like they’d been hit by a truck. They haven’t made it past the round of 32 since winning it all in 2014. That’s now three straight tournaments without a knockout stage win. For a country that used to treat pressure like a warm hug, that’s a real problem.
Netherlands goes out on penalties too after a gut-punch equalizer
In Guadalupe, Morocco and the Netherlands played a tight game that also needed a shootout to settle things. The Dutch took the lead in the 72nd minute through Cody Gakpo, who had Crysencio Summerville to thank for setting him up. Gakpo was emotional after the goal — his unborn child died just days earlier.
But the Netherlands couldn’t hold. Chemsdine Telbi dropped in a perfect cross in stoppage time, and Fulham’s Issa Diop powered a header past Bart Verbruggen. Extra time was mostly a snooze except for one massive moment: Soufiane Rahimi went one-on-one with Verbruggen, and the Brighton keeper made a brilliant save to keep the Dutch alive.
Penalties got weird fast. Neil El Aynaoui missed Morocco’s first kick, but Justin Kluivert hit the post. Quinten Timber missed for the Dutch. Achraf Hakimi also hit the post. Summerville’s kick was saved. Finally Ismael Saibari slotted home to send Morocco through.
Morocco has quietly turned into a tournament force — semifinals in 2022, AFCON champions this year, and now another knockout win. They’ll face co-host Canada next.
Brazil survives a scare and puts Japan out with a late beauty
Brazil looked awful in the first half against Japan in Houston. Just awful. Japan took a deserved lead in the 29th minute when Kaishu Sano stole the ball in midfield, charged forward, and ripped a low shot into the corner. Casemiro — already on a yellow card — got burned on the play and couldn’t recover.
Carlo Ancelotti somehow kept Casemiro on at halftime, and it paid off. The veteran midfielder headed in the equalizer in the 56th minute off a perfect Bruno Guimarães cross. Vinicius Junior hit the post soon after, and Brazil kept pushing.
Japan held on deep into the second half but couldn’t generate anything going forward — just one shot after the break. Then Ao Tanaka made a costly mistake on the edge of his own box, winning the ball but immediately giving it back to Brazil. Bruno found Gabriel Martinelli in the box, and the Arsenal forward curled a shot around goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and in off the post.
Brutal way for Japan to go out after impressing all summer. But Brazil moves on, still chasing that sixth star.
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