How Germany were handed a World Cup humbling and what it means to Paraguay

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The South American underdogs held Germany to a 1-1 draw after extra time, then eliminated the four-time world champions on penalties on Monday. This article will be opened in a new browser windowlist 4 of 4World Cup: Top 5 high-profile VAR and officiating controversies so farend of listThe outcome may well be the greatest upset in World Cup history, given it came in the group stage. Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at what the result means to the two countries. At the World Cup in 1998, Paraguay were clinging to a 0-0 draw in a last-16 meeting with hosts France in the hope of some penalty shootout magic from goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert, but a 114th-minute golden goal by Laurent Blanc dashed that strategy. Twenty-eight years later, Paraguay pulled off what the Chilavert generation could not. Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill saved the efforts of Kai Havertz and Nick Woltemade before Jonathan Tah fired over the bar, and the way was paved for Jose Canale to blast home the decisive spot kick. It was the first time Germany had lost a penalty shootout at the World Cup. Gill has some history of his own as a penalty stopper. He saved two for his club side, San Lorenzo, in a shootout against River Plate in an Apertura match in Argentina in May, although San Lorenzo eventually lost. Last year, in a quarterfinal against Argentinos Juniors, he pulled off the decisive save in another shootout. “It’s difficult to describe in words,” Gill said on Monday after helping the 5-to-1 underdogs advance to the round of 16. “It was a very challenging game. We were under attack from all sides, but we resisted.” “It showed that you shouldn’t speak too soon,” he said as he left the pitch while some of his teammates sobbed with joy. “This proves that Paraguay is capable of achieving great things. The opportunity was bound to come sooner or later.” Asked about his two saves in the shootout, he said: “We had to analyse every player, every detail.” “Now, with a cool head, I’m going to sit down and analyse what we’ve achieved. We managed to hold on until the 120th minute, and luck was on our side during the shootout.” Gill’s next match will be on Saturday in Philadelphia against France or Sweden. As well as Gill’s heroics, Paraguay’s unlikely victory was founded on coach Gustavo Alfaro’s unshakeable faith in his defenders. Criticised for his tactics in the group phase, when Paraguay lost their opening game 4-1 to cohosts the United States and scored only two goals over the three games, Alfaro doubled down on his bet on his backline against Germany. “Today was a match in which we had to be Paraguay more than ever,” captain Gustavo Gomez said. “I think deep down, Germany knew that if they wanted to beat us, they would have to sweat blood, because we were going to make defeat very, very costly for them.” That spirit was on show in a 1-0 group phase win over Turkiye, when Paraguay were reduced to 10 men just before half-time and their opponents had 32 attempts on goal. On Monday, Germany had 75 percent possession and 21 shots against Paraguay’s seven. But behind the numbers, Paraguay’s performance represented a defensive masterclass. The South Americans anticipated almost every move by Germany and limited them to very few moments of real danger, even without stalwart centre-half Omar Alderete, who was injured. Almost completely against the run of play, Julio Enciso – Paraguay’s most creative player so far – opened the scoring in the 42nd minute when he headed in a cross by Matias Galarza. Havertz drew Germany level nine minutes into the second half with a glanced header from a Florian Wirtz cross. The Europeans continued to struggle to pierce Paraguay’s defence. They thought they had won the game in extra time when Tah headed in a corner, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR check for a foul on Gill. The win will be particularly sweet for 63-year-old coach Alfaro, whose critics in the media have included Chilavert himself, who demanded a more attacking style. Now Alfaro will need to prepare his resolute defence for a likely round of 16 encounter with France – led by the free-scoring Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele – who are tipped to beat Sweden in their first knockout match on Tuesday. By contrast, Alfaro’s opposite number on Monday, Julian Nagelsmann, will probably struggle to keep his job after Germany suffered their third consecutive humiliating World Cup exit. Nagelsmann complained about the decision to rule out Tah’s effort in extra time and said he wanted to carry on in the job. “You talk about expectations: It is 11 or 12 years, and we have come up short,” the 38-year-old said. “It’s not enough for German football.” Nagelsmann has a contract up to the 2028 European Championships, but Germany’s premature exit from the World Cup will put the 38-year-old under intense scrutiny. “I’m not someone who runs away,” he told German broadcaster ZDF. “I want to continue, but in football, you don’t always have it in your own hands. “If the DFB [German Football Association] wants me to, then I will prepare for the European Championship and the Nations League.” Midfielder Nadiem Amiri said Germany still have a bright future, but conceded that the pain of defeat makes it hard to look too far ahead. Several of Germany’s core players may not be around for the next World Cup in 2030, but Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz should be in their prime by then. Highly-rated teenager Lennart Karl will also be back in the fold, having missed this tournament due to injury. “We have a lot of young players, a lot of quality in the squad,” said Amiri, who came on deep into extra time and scored his penalty in the shootout. “But at the moment, to think about the future is the wrong decision, and I feel for everybody. I’m very sad, because it was a shocking end to the game. 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