Germany vs. Paraguay heads to penalty kicks

Germany vs. – Germany and Paraguay played a tense Round of 32 match at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, with Germany rallying late after a VAR-disallowed goal. The game is level and moves to penalty kicks, where the winner advances to face the France vs. Sweden winner.

In Foxborough, at Boston Stadium, the noise didn’t fade as regulation ended. It surged—then held—while Germany chased a way out of a match that had felt, at times, like it belonged to Paraguay.

Monday afternoon’s Round of 32 between Group E winner Germany and Paraguay kicked off at 4:30 p.m. at Foxborough. The winner will play the victor of France vs. Sweden in the Round of 16 on July 4 at 5 p.m. in Philadelphia. A win in that matchup would send the winner back to Boston Stadium for the quarterfinal round on July 9.

For Germany, the tournament has been a bumpy ride even with the group win. After a 7-1 win over Curaçao on June 14, Germany needed a stoppage-time goal to beat Ivory Coast 2-1. The run also included a 2-1 loss to Ecuador. Kai Havertz scored the equalizer against Paraguay in the Round of 32. and as the match stretched on. it became clear just how thin the margin was.

Paraguay arrived after regrouping from a 4-1 loss to Team USA at the start of the tournament. In earlier matches, Paraguay advanced to the Round of 32 by beating Turkey 1-0 and then settling for a 0-0 draw against Australia.

The match followed the shape of those results: Paraguay sat compact, defended well, and relied on goalkeeper Orlando Gill. In the knockout, Gill again became the hinge point. He posted back-to-back clean sheets against Turkey and Australia. and in this game he kept springing saves—stopping Nick Woltemade’s attempt at 7:23. punching away chances and denying the moments Germany needed.

Germany’s push looked like momentum building on every corner, but the turning point came in the last stretch. At 6:45, Germany scored in the 102nd minute—Tah with a great header to give the lead. It didn’t last. After a VAR review, the goal was taken off the board. Following that video review, it was ruled that Waldemar Anton fouled Gill before Tah’s header sailed into the net. Germany had been left stunned by the “brutal break,” and at 6:48 the game officially reset with no goal.

From there, the match moved toward extra time. Extra time was a 30-minute stretch split into 15-minute halves, and if neither team scored, the match would move to penalty kicks. At 6:57, play resumed with 15 minutes remaining until penalty kicks.

Paraguay still had its own threats. Even before the VAR swing. Paraguay had taken the lead 1-0 at halftime thanks to a header goal from Julio Enciso. The narrative of the game flipped in the second half when Germany finally found the response at 5:48—Kai Havertz deflecting home a cross from Florian Wirtz to level the match.

The middle of the match also carried sharp moments that threatened to change the rhythm. At 5:55, Julio Enciso was injured and replaced by Mauricio. Earlier, Andres Cubas received a yellow card for Paraguay at 5:57.

Even as Germany dominated possession early—at one point completing 244 passes compared with Paraguay’s 33—Paraguay’s approach still made the game feel like it could snap either way. In the first half. Paraguay kept its edge despite Germany’s possession advantage. and in the opening moments after halftime. Paraguay continued trying to bog the game down.

The final sequence before the shootout had the feel of a contest refusing to decide itself. At 7:12, penalty kicks arrived. By then the scoreboard had held steady through stoppage time and the build to the tie-break.

In the live updates, a parade of chances and near misses kept the tension alive. At 7:18, Havertz went first for Germany and Gill batted away the attempt to his left. At 7:19. Maurício went first for Paraguay and beat Neuer with a similar shot. putting Paraguay ahead at 1-0 in the kicks. At 7:20, Joshua Kimmich responded for Germany, hesitated, then beat Gill with an attempt that glided into the far right corner. But Gustavo Gomez scored for Paraguay as the kicks continued, keeping the pressure on Germany.

Then came the back-and-forth that defined the night: at 7:22. Jamal Musiala scored for Germany while Matías Galarza answered to keep Paraguay ahead. with a low attempt from Matías Galarza met by a Neuer dive that didn’t land correctly. At 7:25, Nadiem Amiri converted for Germany, and at 7:26, Neuer kept Germany alive by stopping Fabián Balbuena’s attempt. The updates ended with the game still alive—“We play on”—as the shootout carried forward.

The winner of Monday’s match moves on to face the winner of France vs. Sweden in the Round of 16 on July 4 at 5 p.m. in Philadelphia. A victory there would also mean returning to Boston Stadium for the quarterfinal round on July 9.

Around the stadium, the crowd energy had been building all afternoon. At 6:13, the attendance was listed as 63,945. Anthem duties began at 4:29 and kickoff came at 4:30. Earlier. the day’s atmosphere included the German fans leaning into the moment even before the first whistle. and a mention of a German fan known on social media as “Freddy. ” whose boots were confirmed on the ground in Foxborough.

For Germany. the night was a reminder of how quickly a World Cup match can swing—especially when a goal can be erased by VAR and a goalkeeper like Orlando Gill keeps forcing the game into tougher terrain. For Paraguay. the path was clear: defend well. stay compact. and make the match a problem Germany has to solve again and again—until the one decision left is the one made in the cold precision of penalty kicks.

Germany Paraguay World Cup 2026 Round of 32 penalty kicks Orlando Gill Julian Nagelsmann Foxborough Boston Stadium Kai Havertz Tah Waldemar Anton